Without Expectations
by Vampykitty-kun
Summary: AU. Dick became Nightwing but Batman never caught Jason stealing the wheels off the Batmobile. Tim becomes the 2nd Robin instead, at his younger age, under a less angsty Batman. Somewhere along the line, Tim has noticed Jason, and falls back in on old habits. Jason is only trying to survive living alone in Gotham. Tim wants to help. FULL Description inside. Jason/Tim, Bruce/Selina
1. Meant for Better Things

Alternate universe, where Dick became Nightwing, but Batman never caught Jason stealing the wheels off the Batmobile.

Instead Jason managed to get that fourth wheel off and out of the alley before he got back. He and Batman never meet, and he never becomes Robin. Months go by, and Tim comes to the conclusion that Dick isn't going to go back, and Batman is lost without a Robin. After trying and failing to convince Dick to go home, Dick consults Barbara and has her introduce Tim to Bruce at the manor, where he's forced to explain how he knows what he does, and just how long he's known. Like with Jason in our canon world, he decides to make Tim his next Robin (after realizing just how absent his parents are in his life despite everything Tim has going for him). Because of this, events from 'Death in the Family' do not play out as they had. Batman and Robin still go after The Joker, but instead of splitting up due to family related events, they face off against the Joker together, stop the distribution of his Joker gas, and bring him into custody, throwing him into Arkham. Tim's parents were still kidnapped resulting in the same outcome, and Tim still wears his version of the Robin costume.

Some point along the line, Tim has noticed Jason, and has seen what the teen is capable of despite no formal training. Tim falls back in on old habits and watches him when in the area during patrol.

Batman isn't as angsty, Dick is off doing his thing, Jason is still living on the streets doing what he can to survive, Tim is unharmed and functioning as Robin, and Damian has obviously been 'born' if I even have him exist in this universe, but he is currently out of the picture being mommy's assassin baby. If in existence.

At the time of this specific fic, ages are as follows: Tim-15, Jason- 17, and Dick-23. Bruce is whatever he's supposed to be during these corresponding Robin ages, lol.

Will be a series of fics, rather than a flowing, multi-chapter fic. Most of these will probably follow under the 'M' rating. Much of what Jason does is illegal, and both him and Tim are underage.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tim touched down in the alley way and peaked around the corner, eyes searching for and not finding the person he was attempting to check up on. He frowned and scanned the surrounding area for any sign of the teen, but despite there being several people scurrying down the street or leaning against buildings there was still no sign of him… and it was the third time tonight he had visited this location.

It worried Tim. Since he had taken it upon himself to observe the nightly actions of the teen during slow moments of patrol, he had never once been unable to locate him, even with the teen's ability to keep hidden from the general public when he desired. Despite his efforts, Tim's thoughts immediately went sour.

What if he was sick? Or Hurt? What if he had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he had gotten mixed up in more than he could handle?

He swallowed hard, and hesitantly reached for his grapple.

"Well if it isn't the Boy Wonder…" A voice drawled from behind him.

Tim spun around, staff at the ready, unnerved that he hadn't heard anyone approach him. Had Batman seen, the lecture would have been endless. Although, the lecture about shadowing unsuspecting people once more would have been far worse…

"Oh, it… it's you-"

With that realization, Tim was quick to turn his com off.

"Yeah, me. Look, I ain't done nothin' to warrant your kind of attention pretty boy, so move on. I'm tired of feeling your eyes bore into my back. Such a fucking stalker."

Well, that was one he had not heard in a while… even if Dick had never quite used those exact words.

"I was just-"

"Looking? Yeah, I've noticed." The older teen sneered, cocking his head. "Look, I don't know what's going on in that head of yours- I don't bother thinking about the mentality of you capes, but unless you're looking for a good time, which I doubt, leave me the hell alone and stop ogling me. Shouldn't you, I don't know, be out and about takin' a bite outta crime? Filling up Blackgate and Arkham with the crazies? Instead of watching me do my thing, you voyeur..." He snorted, pulling a half crushed pack of cigarettes from his jean pocket.

Tim frowned as he tried, without success, to get his lighter to work before tossing it into the street with a growl and glower. With a sigh, he reached into his utility belt, and pulled out a pack of matches, handing them to the teen. Even though he felt poorly about supporting such a habit, at the very least it would offer him some hand warmth, even if temporary. The other boy smirked as he took the matchbook, striking one immediately, and lighting the cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Thanks Bird-boy…" He huffed in amusement, watching Tim's frustration slowly increase.

"You shouldn't be selling yourself so short. I've seen some of the things you can do, you could put yourself to better use." Tim murmured suddenly, face softening.

At this the teen laughed amusedly, and shook his head.

"I'm anything but cheap kid, and I reserve the right to choose when I do things and with whom I do them. I don't work for anyone. If someone tries to fuck me up, I turn it back around on them. I can take care of myself. I make sure I stay clean. Can I do other, more complex things for cash? Yeah, most definitely, I'm very talented at certain things. At times I do. But this shit is more reliable than anything. Hard to find those odd jobs, while there's _always_ someone looking for some company, for one thing or another." He huffed, crossing his arms.

The teen shuddered, and rubbed at the bare skin briefly before returning his attention to Tim.

"You're cold."

"Yeah well, it's Gotham. It's always cold during Gotham nights. You learn to deal."

Tim frowned, and with a sigh walked towards him.

"All the more reason you should be wearing a coat, rather than standing stationary in nothing but a sleeveless shirt and some jeans." Tim sighed, reaching up towards his neck as he approached the teen.

He laughed, shaking his head once more at Tim.

"Wouldn't be having a problem if I hadn't been so preoccupied with watching you hunt for me, waiting for the perfect time to catch you off guard. Right now I could be all toasty and warm sitting in someone's room, or car, sharing body heat. For that I'm cold and broke tonight. Thanks a bunch."

Tim's eyes narrowed, and he unhitched the clasp at his neck, cape slipping back off his shoulders. The teen watched him curiously as he caught it from slipping to the ground with grace, and flipped it out in front of him. With no warning, he closed the distance between him and the older teen, and draped it across his shoulders, wrapping it tightly around him.

The teen opened his mouth to protest, but Tim reached out to the collar, squeezing it tightly in one corner. Almost immediately, it began to flood with heat. Shocked by the sudden change in temperature, he flinched, before wrapping the edges tighter around his form.

"Neat little gadgets Bats gives you… always thought these were just for looks, theatrics. Lot heavier and sturdier than they look. Useful." He nodded to himself before looking across at Tim and offering him a small smile.

But before Tim could comment, or ask the teen any questions (particularly what his name was) a silver car rolled slowly down the street, letting out a short sharp honk that drew the teen's attention away from him.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you Bird-boy, since you're stalking me and all. But you've taken the max amount of free time I can give ya for one night. Got a regular hunting for me." With a smirk he turned away from Tim and let the cape drop to the ground with a slight shiver before rounding the corner and sauntering off towards the stalled car.

Tim couldn't help the tightness forming in his throat as he watched the boy slip into the passenger side door before the car pulled away. He couldn't help but feel disgusted with himself for letting him walk away… and he couldn't help but wish he could have simply brought him home with him himself, where things were safe and warm and had no expectations.

But this was not 'Pretty Woman', and Bruce was not looking for nearly legal additions to his adoptee list.

Tim had other things to worry about though… such as, how long had the teen known he had been watching? And if things were now going to get chatty, how was he going to keep the Bat from knowing what he was up to?

Despite his stomach churning, he turned his com back on, reattached his cape, and shot his grapple into the air, returning to patrol.


	2. All in a Name

Again, this is an alternate universe, where Dick became Nightwing, but Batman never caught Jason stealing the wheels off the Batmobile.

This addition takes place roughly 2 weeks after the last I would say.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tim ran across the rooftops making his way through the streets of Gotham. It had been a long weekend, one of which that had taken Bruce and him out of town, leaving things temporarily in the hands of Dick while they carried out their mission. It had been long and tiring, but they had accomplished what they had set out to do with little interference. They had returned earlier in the day, and had only gotten a few hours' sleep before patrol had started, and because of this, Nightwing had offered to stay in town one final night and help them keep things in order in their tired state.

As nice as it was to get out of dodge occasionally, he had missed Gotham. He always felt safest in familiar territory, and he knew the streets and rooftops of Gotham like the back of his own hand.

He had also been anxious to return home so he could monitor the subject of his attention, the dark haired older teen.

They had not crossed paths on a face to face meeting since their first, but Tim had continued lurking in the shadows.

Two nights before their weekend excursion the teen had entered a secluded street fight, something Tim had thought counterproductive considering what he did most nights relied partly upon him not having a battered face, at least until he had actually seen him fight. The teen had come away with little more than a bruised bicep, a throbbing shin, and some busted knuckles, and had walked away with three hundred dollars in his pocket grinning like a Cheshire cat. The other participants had not been quite as lucky.

He had watched him walk up to a vender, grab a couple of chilidogs, and eat with feet dangling off a fire escape above the food vendor before he had had to return to patrolling.

The following night he had watched him put the beat down on a man peddling drugs near his typical corner, when he had attempted to sell to two young boys. Tim had almost jumped in himself before the teen had beaten him to it. Tim HAD called in it though, and the teen had made himself scarce as the GCPD squad car rolled in and picked the man up. A half hour later, Tim had watched a man in his mid-twenties pull up on a Harley, and drive off with the teen seated behind him.

Again, his stomach had churned.

It was nearing 4am, and Tim was doubtful that the boy would be at his typical hangout, but he had not had the chance all night to break away and catch sight of him. Now, when he should be heading home, it was only chance he would get to do a swing by. It was not as though anyone was waiting for him to return home. Reminders like that had him wishing all the more he could just live at the manor with Bruce and Alfred…

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind with a sigh, he touched down on the roof across from the teen's usual haunt.

And there he was, much to Tim's surprise.

The raven haired teen sat curled against the brick wall, knees to his chest with his arms wrapped around them, staring out at the empty street. Tim frowned, taking in his state of dress. Again, it was a cold night, only in the mid-forties, and he was only wearing a pair of raggedy too-small blue jeans, a threadbare black t-shirt, and a beat up pair of high top canvas shoes.

And that was just not something Tim could live with.

He was shooting his grapple to the building across from him before he could really even think about what he was doing. He knew immediately that he had been louder than normal when the teen's head jerked up, and he turned his gaze towards the alley with a hesitant look, scanning the shadows expectantly.

Cursing himself for his carelessness (for if he could forget to be covert while approaching a familiar civilian, he could do it just as easily in the presence of Batman, and that just would not do), he dropped down into the alley below, stepping out into the range of the streetlight.

"Bit late for you isn't it, Bird-boy? Normally you capes are outta here earlier."

Tim frowned as the teen approached him shivering, and leaned against the stone wall of the alleyway.

"Last run before home. Why are you still out?"

"Seriously asking me that? You already know the answer." He snorted. "Been a slow night tonight. No interesting side gigs, and no one interested in my kind of company. Shit happens." He chuckled darkly before running a shaky hand through his wind mussed hair. "Be here 'til sunrise. If I ain't got nothin' by then, well, sucks to be me. I'll go back to my hole, cold and hungry, and do it all again tonight. Vicious cycle, but that's life."

Tim's frown only darkened further, and his shoulders slumped as he resisted a sigh. Regardless, the older teen seemed to sense the mood going sour, and cocked his hip with a smirk before closing in on the Robin.

Tim tensed and flattened himself against the wall, breath hitching in his throat as the boy scraped his hands up his chest, and quickly clasped the edges up his cape.

"Here to warm me up again, _Robin_?" The older boy smirked widely as Tim flushed, and raised a hand to push against his chest in attempt to regain some of his personal bubble.

With a small laugh, the raven haired teen pressed against the edge of the cape's collar, relishing in the immediate surge of heat that erupted. He wrapped the ends of the cape around himself, pressing his form tightly against Tim's chest, encasing them both in the heated confines of the firm yet flowy fabric. Tim gasped as icy hands clasped the bare portion of his arms, and felt the other boy shudder in relief as he regained feeling in his chilled limbs.

Tim knew he should not be allowing this closeness, this invasion of his- _Robin's_ personal space, but he could not help feeling the surge of emotions that washed over him. Anger that some chain of events had put the other boy in this position, where he had to fend for himself by doing such self-degrading, illegal, immoral things. A surge of overwhelming protectiveness that had him wanting to forever keep the other boy tucked under his cape and out of harm's way. Sadness in that there was only so much he could possibly do to help the other teen. And regret, that in being Robin he was unable to spend very much time shadowing him, learning about him, and making sure he stayed healthy and safe like he had done with Bruce and Dick.

Bruce would never approve, never allow this closeness with a civilian whilst in costume. He would never understand.

With a sigh, and slight shiver, he firmly but slowly pushed the other boy back.

"How about I go get us some very late dinner, and we eat up there by the laundry vent where it's warmer?" He offered up with a small smile.

The teen stared at him warily before slumping slightly, releasing his hold on Tim, and backing out of the warmth of the cape.

"Yeah… sure." He muttered.

Tim tilted his head slightly, observing the change in attitude as he watched the other back up and prop himself up against the opposite wall. With a barely noticeable shrug, he pulled out his grapple and shot off towards the roof. From there he traveled by rooftop.

He returned fifteen minutes later, to-go bag in his gauntlet clad hand. The older teen neglected to notice his return until Tim announced himself, grabbing his attention.

"Hey, can you get up here on your own?" He asked, perched on a ledge two stories up.

He watched as the boy visibly jumped and sought out his location with wide eyes. Noticeably dumbfounded, he nodded. Before Tim could really register what was happening, the teen hopped and shimmied up the side wall, latching onto a window ledge before launching himself through the air to the otherside of the alleyway and slinging to the side of the rickety fire escape. He pulled himself up and over, and eagerly ran up the stairwell where he plopped down at Tims side near the hotel's warm vent.

Tim could not help but again be impressed with the abilities that seemed to come naturally to the other boy when he himself had had to put hours of training in each day to achieve such skill. With a grin, he sat beside him and ripped the paper bag open.

"You came back." The other boy said, breaking the short silence, and Tim paused.

"I- well, I said I was going to get food, didn't I?"

His confusion brought a smile to the teen's face, who shook his head slightly.

"Didn't think you'd come back. Thought I overstepped my bounds and you were making a polite get away. Guess even I can be surprised every once and a while, huh?"

Tim was pretty sure his face showed how mortified he felt when the other looked alarmed.

"NO! I would have never left you like that!" Tim gasped, waving his hands in front of him in protest. "That would have been horrible, saying I was off to get us food, then ditching you. Especially when you told me you were hungry. I'm sorry I made you think that, honest!" he groaned, frantically returning to the bag in front of him, earning another odd look.

He placed a Styrofoam box and lidded bowl in front of the other boy first before retrieving his own box, and watched silently as he lifted the container to his face and sniffed.

"Is that what I- _yes_…" the older teen practically groaned as he lifted the lid, that Cheshire grin returning. "Fucking stalker… of course you would. Soup too? Awesome."

Tim grinned as the teen, disregarding the fact that the food was dripping as he lifted it from the tray, took a giant bite of the first chilidog, moaning in content as he swallowed. Tim was suddenly grateful that he was used to Dick showing great appreciation for food, otherwise the lewd noises the other boy was making would have seemed obscene.

The other boy had already finished the first of the two chilidogs by the time he remembered that he had his own food and should most definitely be eating it. He opened his pasta tray quickly, and twirled the spaghetti around the plastic fork carefully. After his first mouth full, the other boy shifted his position, and Tim looked up. The other said nothing as he scooted up against him and pulled the one side of the cape over his shoulders. Tim only gave a small smile, and returned to his food.

After several long moments, and the second chilidog had disappeared, the teen broke the silence once more.

"Jason."

Tim's fork paused inches from his mouth, and he turned his head.

"Pardon?"

The other boy laughed with a smile and reached for the soup cup.

"Name's Jason. Jason Todd. Thought you'd wanna know." He chirped, before slurping at his soup, grin still evident on his face even as he ate.

And with that, Tim knew he was in trouble, even before he returned Jason's grin.


	3. The Greatest Moments are Unplanned

Well, despite earlier installments being nice short little one-shots, this one quickly became a monster! It's not something to expect from future parts though, unless by chance another one goes on far longer than planned. I never know how long these will end up until I'm actually in the process of typing out the scenes in my brain.

This is not a Christmas fic, but there's some gift giving all the same, so it's an appropriate fic to post for today

Hope this is as enjoyable to read as it was to write!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tim knew that he shouldn't, that what he was doing was extraordinarily risky, and that if Batman got word (or sight) of the situation, he would end up off duty working the cave, and that he would be forbidden to continue his association with Jason. But Tim had always been a risk taker when it came to people he cared about, even if practically strangers, even if he was not quite sure _why_ he cared as much as he did.

He made a point of checking in on Jason nightly, even if it meant staying out later than necessary. He did not meet him face to face often, only on rare occasions, but nearly every other night he left small gifts of food up on that fire escape. All he had needed to do to alert the older teen to its presence was be louder than typical when touching down on the rusted metal platform. After the first few times, Jason had gotten the idea, and anytime a metallic thunk sounded from that general direction, Jason rounded the corner and climbed up for his meal.

Tim felt it was the least he could do, making sure the teen at the bare minimum had food coming to him multiple times a week, in case he was unable to provide for himself certain nights. The older teen had been on his own for a long time now, both parents having died years ago, according to his research. He would love to be able to sit and talk with him from time to time, to know exactly how Jason was doing, and if he was managing alright, but to do so other than when necessary would risk Batman becoming aware of his new hobby.

Tim was willing to pick his battles.

Tonight however, he had a different sort of gift to present to the boy, one that would require a face to face confrontation, which he certainly did not mind. This particular gift had taken a few weeks to put together, between his school and night schedule, and the inability to consult Alfred on the matter. But it was ready, and he could only hope it was appreciated.

Tonight was one of those late run nights, a Wednesday. Tim had noticed after a while that Wednesdays were always 'slow', and Jason was almost always hunched over himself staring blankly at the street waiting for something that more times than not wouldn't come. So chances were, the teen had the time to spare. He made a quick food run, earning the odd stares and occasional smiles from the shop's employees and customers like always. Only in Gotham would fast food be available at all hours of the night, and have vigilante's standing in line in full gear.

When he touched down on the rooftop across the street from Jason's usual location, he was surprised to see that no one was there. Disappointment set in rather quickly, much to his shock, and he mentally scolded himself as it was something that he should not allow to faze him. With a sigh, he leaned back against the building's inactive coolant system, and allowed himself to slump to the floor. He was tired, sore, hungry, and thoroughly miffed about being unable to get his gift to the other boy tonight. Mixed emotions surrounded that idea. On one hand he knew Jason was likely warm instead of out under dressed in the low temperature, possibly fed, and at the very least he would walk away from the night with money in his pocket. On the other, Tim knew that whatever Jason was up to was surely illegal, regardless of what 'job' had his attention on this particular night, which put him in danger no matter how you looked at the situation.

Tim knew that he should have simply left and gone home the moment he had seen that Jason was not there. That the extra bit of sleep would not have hurt him, food could be refrigerated and microwaved, and that there would always be other chances to meet up, feed him, and give him his gift.

He was glad he had chosen to sulk instead.

Tim had been just about ready to pull himself back up on his feet when the gunshots rang out, sounding from within the alleyway the two boys frequented. Stunned out of his poor mood immediately, Tim launched himself over the edge of the building and dropped into the empty street, batarang in hand as he bolted head-on toward the alley entrance.

He did not make it that far.

Jason came staggering out of the shadows, bracing himself against the stone walls with one hand, a crowbar dangling from the other. Tim watched as the boy let out a feral snarl and whipped the bar away from him, clattering down the sidewalk.

Jason stopped in his tracks abruptly as he caught sight of Tim, seemingly unsure about how to progress. The older teen was intact, but worse for wear, and Tim began to immediately catalog all visible injuries as he approached the boy, noting at once that bullet wounds were not among them.

"Are you alright?"

Tim winced as soon as the words left his mouth, sounding far sterner and demanding than he intended, as Jason flinched and stayed tense thereafter.

Jason was a mess. His hair was strung out and sticky above his left ear, a small but steady stream of crimson running down his jawline. His lower lip was split to the right, painting his mouth and chin with even more blood that spotted and stained the dark grey t-shirt he was wearing tonight. The shirt's collar was torn, and Tim could see the mottled bruising already beginning to form up and down the length of his neck. Jason had stumbled out of the alley with a limp, and although Tim could not see what damage had been done to the teen's legs, he held back a snarl of his own as he realized not only just how low on the hips Jason's jeans were, but that they no longer had a button and the zipper was surely busted.

He drew in a long shaky breath, and readied his voice, careful to not sound as harsh as he had just moment earlier before opening his mouth.

"You were attacked?

Jason snorted, eyes trained on the ground.

"Not the first time, prob'ly not the last." He muttered.

"The assailants?" Tim pressed.

At this, Jason turned his head back towards the alley and shrugged.

"Knocked the fuck out with the shit kicked outta their scumbag asses…" When this seemed to surprise Tim, he chuckled darkly. "Told ya when we had our first heart to heart. Anyone tries to fuck me up, I give it right back at them, twice as hard."

Tim gave a single nod, and followed the boy's gaze.

"Shots fired?"

"Fucking idiots. Too many people in too small of a place. Didn't even see the piece until the one pulled it outta nowhere when I got ahold of the crowbar from dumbass number two and tried to bash his head in with it. Instead of his head, went for the gun hand instead. Shot hit the wall. Second shot I dodged, almost too late, despite my knee feelin' like a damned elephant sat on it. Close enough anyway…" He shuddered. "That one clipped the third guy, the big one, in the shoulder when I dove out of the way. Kicked it outta his hand afterwards, and his face got acquainted with my fist before he said hello the crowbar. Similar situation for the other two."

Tim stepped past him, leaving him at the curb as he entered the alleyway. Sure enough, three men lay crumpled on the ground, unconscious. He pulled out his zip strips, and secured their hands behind their backs. Jason hobbled into the entry way, putting his weight against the wall as he watched Tim finish up and pull out a phone, calling in a pick-up with Gordon.

The sirens sounded only moments after Tim slipped the phone back into his utility belt, and Jason took that as his cue to make himself scarce. His attempt to climb and launch himself up onto the fire escape was immediately thwarted though as Tim firmly grasped his arm and tugged, urging him to face him.

"Try that, and you will only hurt yourself more, and we don't need that. Let me."

Jason opened his mouth to protest, only to shut it once more as Tim tightly wrapped an arm around his waist. He was not given any time to comment before Tim had the grapple gun drawn, and was launching it up to the roof. He hissed as he was hefted up into the air, landing just moments after his feet left the ground. As Tim turned to leap back to the ground below, he paused, regarding him carefully.

"Ribs?"

"Fuck yeah…" he grunted, wrapping an arm around himself while steadying his footing.

"Stay here, don't move, and be silent. I'll be with you again shortly; I'll have to take care of this first, unavoidable."

Tim dropped down just as the squad cars rolled up. The officers exited the vehicles without hesitation and approached the three unconscious men lying on the ground. They hauled them to the squad cars one by one securing them within the vehicles before moving to converse with Robin.

"What's the deal this time kid?"

Tim tilted his head slightly and frowned, hastily putting an explanation together in his head.

"To my understanding Sir, all three are guilty of aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, and potentially an attempted robbery. As you can see it did not go well for them. The victim managed to fend them off and disarm them just as I arrived. He vacated the premises while I was typing them up. Shots fired. One slug in the wall there, gunshot wound to the one man's shoulder courtesy of one of his own men. Hand gun is lying a few feet away from where they were laying."

Tim watched as one of the officers walked past him to retrieve the gun, and another began fishing the slug out of the stone wall. Afterwards, without a thank you, good job, or nod in his direction, the officers returned to their vehicles and pulled away. Tim rounded the corner and watched after them until they turned the corner, where he then made his way over to the earlier discarded crowbar and wiped it clear of prints before slinging it over his shoulder and shooting his grapple back up towards the roof.

Jason looked even more of a mess, much of the front of his shirt stained crimson now, head injuries always heavy bleeders. He sat slumped against the rooftop door of the hotel, arm still wrapped around his middle. He looked up as Tim approached him, still tense and on guard, even as he crouched down before him.

"Never said nothin' about a robbery…" He muttered shakily.

Tim sighed.

"Well, I had to give motive for the assault, and I figured you would be unwilling for them to take your statement, go to the hospital, or attend a court date, so attempted robbery with the victim fleeing the scene it was." He murmured, pulling a light from his belt, and shining it in the teen's eyes. "You're lucky, no concussion. Must have clipped you at just the right angle."

Jason snorted, and winced as Tim prodded his head.

Tim paused and stared at the older teen, chewing on his lower lip as he rocked back on his heels, clearly battling his thoughts out in his head. Jason watched him wearily, and flinched when he let out a ragged sigh.

"Stay."

Without explanation, Tim launched himself off the roof and back across the street, and then made his way down the block traveling by rooftop.

He returned several minutes later, a duffle bag in hand, and tossed it to the ground. Much to Jason's surprise, Tim unlatched his cape, letting it crumple to the ground in a heap, and proceeded to carefully remove his utility belt, and the rest of his costume thereafter until he was standing before him clad only in boxer-briefs and his domino and shivering.

"Not that I don't appreciate the view Bird-boy, 'cause damn, but the fuck are you doing?" the corners up his mouth twitched slightly, causing him to wince when his lip throbbed as he looked the younger boy over.

Tim shot him a glare through his lenses, and reached down, pulling clothes out of the duffle bag. He pulled jeans up over his legs quickly, slipped a plain t-shirt over his head, and jammed a hooded sweatshirt over himself before facing away from Jason and carefully prying the mask from his face. When he turned back around, a simple pair of black sun glasses had replaced it. Afterwards, Tim returned the utility belt to his waist, and pulled the bottom of his hoodie over it.

"Well, this is different." Jason chuckled, regretting it when his side jolted.

"Stay here, won't be much longer."

"You keep saying 'stay', like I could get up and off of here on my own even if I wanted to. Seriously. Don't know what the hell you're doing, but chill. I'll be here."

He watched as Tim gave a quick, curt nod, before gathering up his discarded costume and shoving it none too neatly into the duffle. He slung the bag over his shoulder, retrieved two other bags that Jason had not even noticed up until now, and dropped down off the edge of the roof hopping down the fire escape. Jason sat with his eyes closed, breathing steady as he waited for the boy to return.

Nearly twenty minutes went by, agonizingly slow, before a knock sounded behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. With a grunt, he scooted away from the door, and it opened slowly, revealing Tim behind it.

"…huh?"

Tim gave a small smile, and offered a hand to him. Jason stared at him for a long moment, wishing that he had forgone the sunglasses so the other boy wasn't so damn puzzling, before he reached up and clasped his hand. Tim hauled him up gently, letting him lean against the door way briefly before slipping an arm around his waist once more and helping him inside. He shuddered as the heat coasted over his body, and Tim walked him slowly down the stairwell. He supposed that he should not have genuinely been surprised when the boy pulled a keycard from his pocket, and opened the door to a suite.

Tim locked the door behind them and immediately pulled him to the bathroom, setting him down gently on the closed lid of the toilet before he began rummaging through the belt. Tim turned the sink on, and grabbed a washcloth off the shelf, wetting it before gently prodding at Jason's head once again. The boy's frown quickly grew as he washed the wound, stopping briefly whenever Jason winced.

"You're going to need stitches-" he paused, gripping Jason's arm as the teen opened his mouth to protest. "I'm not carrying anything to numb, but I can do them pretty neatly. Comes with the job."

"Sure… why the hell not." He grunted, watching as Tim pulled out a packaged curved needle and thread, and hesitated briefly before he sunk it into his flesh.

Jason flinched, and grabbed ahold of Tim's thigh with one hand and the sink with the other as the needle poked in and out of his skin, and Tim tied the strands off. His eyes were burning by the time the boy finished, admittedly much faster than he had expected, and he breathed in shakily as Tim rubbed an alcohol pad against the closure.

"How bad?" he groaned, leaning back against the tank.

"Seven. Could have been worse. Much worse." He murmured, cupping the right side of Jason's face as he brought the pad up to his split lip next.

Jason sighed and let his muscles relax some.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" He chuckled, tonguing at the small slit when Tim finally pulled away. "Never know what's going through your birdy brain."

"I'm… not following." Tim blinked, tilting his head slightly.

"Most people would have never bothered with me. But here we are."

"I'm not most people."

"No, you're not."

Tim grinned for the first time since their fiasco started, and gently sliced through the bloodstained t-shirt with a small pocket knife, searching for further injuries beneath it. A large area over his left ribs was purpling angrily, but past that, his torso was relative unscathed. He pressed against the ribs gently, earning a hiss from the other boy, but nodded approvingly.

"Looks like you just away with just some heavy bruising, nothing is broken. There is a possibility that is cracked that I can't feel, but if there is it's very minor."

"Mmm."

Tim crouched down and untied the ragged sneakers, tossing them to the side, before he slowly tugged the worn and thin jeans down his legs. At this, Jason gave a lewd grin.

"Why Robin, if you wanted to get me naked, all you need is ask."

At this, Tim sputtered, cheeks flushing madly.

"T-That's not-"

"Relax Baby-bird. Just lucky I wasn't freeballing today. No need to ruffle your feathers."

Tim pressed his lips into a thin line, and examined Jason's knee, ignoring smirk on the other boy's face.

"Looks like the worse you came away with tonight was the head wound. For the most part you just have heavy bruising and some scratches. In a few days you should be feeling alright." He pressed a thumb against a particularly dark blotch on Jason's throat and grimaced. "Do you- do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

Tim sighed and stood slowly, offering a hand to the other boy once again. Jason took hold of it without any hesitation and pulled himself upright, bracing himself on Tim's shoulder as they left the confines of the bathroom. Tim deposited him on the large bed, helping him pull his feet up before crossing over to the earlier discarded bags, ignoring Jason's trademark Cheshire grin as he passed.

"You can put these on. I was planning on giving them to you under less dire circumstances, but well…" he laughed awkwardly, and tossed a large bag of clothes at him.

"Sweet." Jason chuckled, pulling a pair of new, thick denim jeans from the bag up onto his legs and over his hips.

They fit perfectly, the younger boy had miraculously been able to guess his size, and it amused him. He slid the tight black turtle neck he unfolded from within right over his head, wincing slightly as the collar brushed gently over his new stitches. A nice pair of thick socks came next, and he gladly stripped off his own replacing them. The next and final item had him looking up at Tim in question as he unearthed it from within.

"That one you can leave off for now." Tim smiled warmly, watching his expression.

Jason raised his eyebrows, and pulled it on all the same.

"Dude… seriously, this had to cost a small fortune. It's real, I can smell it!" He gasped, pulling the brown leather collar of the jacket up over his cheeks, inhaling the natural scent.

"It's… honestly not a big deal. I have the money to spare. Batman pays well." He chuckled lightly, moving to stand in front of Jason. "That's not even the best part."

Tim reached forward, grasping the collar, and gently squeezed the edge. Immediately, warmth began to spread through the seams, just like it had with Robin's cape.

"I-…wow. Just wow." He murmured, reaching up to press the switch himself, stopping the flow of heat.

"There is an internal pocket with a charge cord. Half hour plugged in will give you eight hours of power. I'm not sure how often you are near a socket, but I'm sure you have to be somewhere with power at some point during the day, right? Or should I look into an alternative power source?"

"No, no this is… great. Seriously. Won't let it outta my sight."

"I thought it would go with anything you might wear, so it would not look out of place. You always look so cold, and winter _is_ closing in fast. I can't always be there lending my cape." He smiled weakly, watching Jason conflicted over whether or not to keep the jacket on even in the warmth of the room, or set it up for the time being.

In the end, Jason nodded mutely, and slipped the brown jacket over the desk chair next to the bed.

Tim took that as the chance to slip away once more, and Jason followed his movement with his eyes. He disappeared around the corner, and the older teen raised an eye brow as a microwave started up before nodding to himself knowingly.

Of course he would have come bearing food as well.

Tim returned to the bed a few minutes later, not only with two containers of food in hand, but the domino back in place upon his face.

"Really can't ditch the eyewear huh?" he asked, happily taking the contained offered to him, which to his pleasure contained a rather thick, overstuffed cheese burger.

Tim slumped his shoulders at that and sadly shook his head.

"Afraid not." He murmured. "It's not that I don't trust you, or that I would not want to, it's just…"

"The rules?"

"Yes."

"Mmm. Names as well?"

"I- yes… I'm sorry."

At this Jason laughed.

"No problem. To be honest, I don't get names very often from anyone. But I've gotten quite good at nicknames. I've got tons of them for you, sure you've noticed, you'll just have to deal with them by default." He smirked.

Tim only sighed.

"Yeah… I guess so."

They sat in silence as they ate their meals, Jason ever so often glancing up at Tim as he stared absent mindedly at his food. The older teen was squirming by the time the food was gone, and Tim stood up to take away the trash. Upon his return, Tim slipped himself into the desk chair, pulling his knees up against his chest.

"So…" Jason started, finally breaking the silence. "What now?"

Tim met his gaze, forehead crinkled in what appeared to be stress.

"I- this was not planned…"

"I gathered that." He smirked, leaning back up against the pillows, eyeing the younger boy. "Ya know, I wouldn't be opposed to-"

"NO!" Tim exclaimed, flabbergasted, letting his feet drop back to the floor as he stared at Jason with wide eyes. "No-just no. That is not why I did all of this! I… I don't want you to think that. I do what I do without expectations, I'm not asking for anything in return, I just… want you to be okay. "He ended in a whisper.

The awkward silenced returned afterwards, until Jason snorted with laughter.

"Wow _Robin_. Goes to show where your mind is. I was only going to suggest that we watch movie." He smirked. "In bed."

Tim let out a frustrated whine.

"I was being serious…"

Jason's face softened, and he grabbed the remote off the side table, patting the space beside him.

"Yeah… I know. Thank you."

In the end, Tim did in fact join Jason on the queen sized bed, where they watched the latest action flick until sunrise. Eventually, both boys nodded off, television on in the background, huddled up against one another.

Later on both had their own personal realizations.

Tim had never once stayed out all night without anyone knowing where he was or what he was doing.

Jason had never once woken up in someone's arms.

Neither boy was complaining.


	4. Secret Services - Part ONE

Unlike the previous chapters, this is a LONG one. It is also a two chapter storyline, while all previous chapters were stand alones. Sorry for cliffhangers, but it was best to stop now than to have a 20+ page chapter!

Hope you enjoy!

x-x-x-x-x-x-

It had been a slow night in Gotham on this particular evening, not that Tim was complaining.

Nothing but petty crimes and mindless patrol for hours. It had been slow enough that Batman had sent him home early. Or so, Batman had thought at least.

Tim had other plans however.

Tonight Tim was taking advantage of his early release, and was headed off straight towards Uptown, and into the Narrows to find Jason. He had missed seeing him the past four nights in a row. He had gone to the area at various times all four nights, but Jason had been nowhere to be seen. He had left the boy food all the same, which had at least been gone every time he had returned the next day. Tim had begun bringing food nightly as of a week and a half ago, but had not spoken to Jason face to face since that very same night in the hotel. The older teen had seemingly been recovering nicely however, if of course he was not faking it, extremely well.

After that awkward night, he had been unable to risk another meet up with the older teen. He had only just barely gotten home, out of costume, and showered before Bruce had come stomping into his house, demanding why he had not answered the house phone the past few hours (he had been wanting his opinion on a case apparently). He had played it off like he had simply just slept that deeply, that he must have really needed it, but he could tell that the man had not been convinced in the slightest. Thankfully, Bruce had let things be and had questioned him no further, and had not seemed out of sorts after the incident at all.

Tim had been watching.

So now that he was free much earlier in the night than he had been in ages, he was hoping he would be able to catch Jason before he left the area for the night, and be able to see how he had hopefully improved over the last few days. He also wanted to be sure that it was really Jason that had been grabbing the food as of late as without actually seeing Jason take it, it could have really been anyone.

Tim had admittedly not been paying very much attention as he had traveled towards his destination, hopping along rooftops, and shooting off his grapple when gaps were too wide. So he was legitimately shocked when upon landing on the rooftop across the street from their 'spot' he spotted Jason standing atop the hotel roof waving at him, sporting his favorite Cheshire grin, while wrapped up tight in his jacket.

Truth be told, he was floored.

Not that he would _ever_ admit it.

Tim shot his grapple line over to the hotel as soon as he recovered from his initial shock, and landed just a few feet away from the older teen, who approached him immediately.

Jason slung an arm around Tim's shoulders, giving his arm a slight squeeze before grabbing the take out bag from his hand and dropping down in front of him to chow down ravenously. Tim watched him plow through the meal faster than he had seen the teen ever eat, before finally speaking his mind.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, kneeling down to join Jason on the ground. "I mean… I haven't seen you in days, and you've never once sought me out yourself? Is someone after you?" He questioned, reaching up to thumb at the nearly healed head wound Jason has received the week before.

Jason swallowed his last bite quickly, and shook his head, batting Tim's hand away.

"No, not me, at least… I don't think so. Couldn't be sure. Never can be sure…" He muttered, stretching out his legs. "But I do have a problem, and I seriously hate to ask for help, 'cause… well, you do enough really-"

"What is it?" Tim interrupted, placing a hand on the other boy's shin. "Seriously, I don't mind, if it is within reason of course."

Jason stared at him a long, silent moment, before giving a shaky sigh and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

"Got a light? It's a bit of a story, and my nerves are shot." He chuckled darkly, placing one of the sticks between his lips.

Tim regarded him carefully, and gave a small sigh, noting just how twitchy Jason seemed to be tonight. Reluctantly, he pulled a matchbook from within his belt and passed it to the teen.

"Thanks…"

Tim watched as he lit the cigarette and took a long drag before releasing a puff of smoke and curling his hands into his pockets.

Tim looked him over anxiously during the brief pause, trying to be sure that under all Jason's clothing he was no worse for wear than he had been last he had seen him. He sighed as Jason stiffened at his touch, and pulled away from the boy.

"Jason, if you don't want-"

"No! I do, it's just… not sure where to start, that's all." He sighed. "And I'm a bit jumpy at the moment, don't take it to heart, 'kay?"

Tim nodded and gave Jason a small reassuring smile.

"Just talk. I will keep track so don't worry about that. I'll even record it so I can rearrange the information later if need be." Tim grinned, gesturing for him to carry on as he pulled out a small device.

Jason eyed it wearily before giving a hesitant nod.

"Yeah… yeah, okay. So look, I'm no snitch, that shit'll get you killed out here. But, I mean… fuck!" Jason let out a frustrated growl, and tossed himself backwards to lay flat on his back, running his hands through his hair gripping at it tightly. "People are dying. And, it's not like it ain't common in this part of town, because on any given night you can probably find some stiff lying around somewhere if you look hard enough. Survival of the fittest… but these are good people. They may not be classy, they may not have their morality intact, but they're genuinely just trying to keep themselves, sometimes others alive. A bunch ain't clean, but a lot of them are, and you can _tell_ who is and isn't handling themselves well."

Tim stiffened, and nodded slowly.

"You're speaking of the- working girls? Right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Jason sighed, jabbing the butt of the first cigarette out on the rooftop before lighting up a second stick. "the girls. See… I don't work for anyone. I stay away from pimps and bookies because even though that's the easy route, the sure way to know that there will always be something to do on any given night, they're pieces of shit. Abusive sonuvabitches that treat their _employees_ like slaves, steal most of their hard earned cash, and manipulate everything so that it's in their favor. Most people can't help themselves though, ya know? There's the slightest bit of safety when you've got a name backing you, and some of these girls are seriously terrified of everything. They're willing to have some bastard push them around and bark orders at them, telling them who to go with, and what to do with them, just to have the illusion of that protection."

"Peace of mind?" Tim murmured.

"Exactly." Jason nodded, taking another drag. "I might not work _with_ the girls, but I do work _around_ them, and it doesn't stop me from making conversation with them. If they stick around long enough, and keep their heads on straight, it's easy to make friends. To be honest really, they're the only people I really talk to these days, other than you of course."

"I see. So… the girls are dying?"

"Yeah, they are. I mean, yeah, it happens all the time. It's not the safest thing to do with your nights, especially if you're not the one calling the shots, but it's gotten ridiculous. In the past week alone it's been nine girls. NINE. In a typical bad month, three at the max. But nine in one week is some freaky shit."

"And the police are not looking into it?" Tim frowned.

"Fuck no. Brushed it off like it was nothing. A few nights ago I had the pleasure of having to speak to them myself. Bullock, the bastard, of all people. Said there was nothin' strange at all about some 'hookers' biting the big one, and that he wasn't going to put men out there to investigate something that wasn't there when they could be doing more important things. Such as, hunting down Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Batty, which will totally never happen. May not know the guy as well as you do, but his track record speaks for itself, 'cept when it comes to tires, in which case I'm just epic like that. So that ass is wasting his time when it's needed elsewhere."

"…what?" Tim quirked an eyebrow, corner of his mouth twitching in slight amusement.

"Story for another time Robin, story for another time. Anyway, Bullock needs a boot shoved up his ass. He knows it ain't normal just as well as I do, he just don't give a flying fuck. I mean, I guess I kinda get it, seriously. Cops have got worse things to deal with in this crazy city then a few girls dead in alleys, and as much as I hate to admit it, it's hard for any of the rest of us to really give a shit when you've got yourself to worry about. Until it gets personal, of course, and hits home. I brushed it off until I couldn't, and then I got involved, which as I said, didn't do a damned thing."

"Someone you were close to this time." Tim responded, nodding knowingly with a sigh.

"Yeah. It was. Name was Trina. Kind lady, funny, and pretty young. Had a ten year old son she was trying to put though school. Babysat him a handful of times when he was younger in exchange for dinner. She'd done a damned good job up 'til now." Jason snorted, shaking his head sadly.

"Where is he now?"

"Now, see, that's why I've been so damned busy the last few days. Been tired as hell, haven't slept a wink, and have been running all over town. Was starving 'til you came around. I had been giving the kid all of my meals." He winced as a frown spread across the younger teen's face. " I'm sure you understand. Anyway, Trina had a sister in Metropolis that she'd had a falling out with some twelve years back when she'd run off to the city and left her behind. I got an _acquaintance_ of mine to look the lady up. I had to try. Nothing worse than being put through the system in a city like Gotham. Despite the issues they'd had she was genuinely crushed to find out what had happened, and even more shocked to find out she'd had a nephew this whole time. Agreed to take the kid and deal with the mess of paperwork. It helped that Trina had his birth certificate and crap in one of her drawers. Managed to get up enough cash over the last few days for the bus trip out there. Fed him, put the kid on in his bus seat, wished him good luck, and sent him on his way this morning. Called the lady up a while ago to make sure he got there alright and that they met up just fine. With any luck he's off to a decent home and won't have nearly as rough of a life as he would have had back out here." He grinned.

"I see. That was… incredible of you, to do that for him, even though it cost you money, food, and sleep to do so." Tim smiled, curling the cape tight around his shoulders as a particularly chilly wind brushed past.

"No one else was gonna. Better than some asshole getting a hold of him, or him being sent off to some home."

"Mmm." Tim nodded. "So what now?"

"See, now that's where I need your help. No one's gonna look into it, and if no one's looking into it, it's not going to stop. More girls are going to be turning up dead in crazy amounts, probably some of the guys too. Fortunately, unlike Bullock and the rest of Gotham's finest, I know you'll listen to what I have to say. I know you'll believe me. At least… I hope you will."

"Of course I will." Tim smiled weakly. "I have no reason not to. Batman and I are different from the police. We take cases all the time that no one will touch, or those that they have no idea how to handle. If anyone can bring those girls to justice, it's us."

Jason beamed, and twirled his cigarette in his fingers.

"Gotcha, good to know. Alright, so, there's this guy down on Montgomery and 23rd. His name's Marcel Degan, he runs the shots, runs the girls." Jason explained. "He's always been a piece of shit, but lately he's been really fuckin' riled up. Word is he's taken on dealing something pretty fucked up, and has been on edge about it, possibly dabbling in it himself, the idiot. He's been really bad with the girls. They're piling on the makeup to cover up the major bruises and cuts they've been getting when he's in a particularly shitty mood. They're starting shifts so shaken up that they're vibrating like they're using, hell, some of the cleanest ones even started using recently because they can't take the abuse. Just last week he came down the street and beat the shit outta one girl, Mary, because one of her Johns took her out for a big fancy dinner on top of paying her. Told her she'd get fat, and no one would touch her, and that he should have just given her the extra hundred. Which is a load of bull considering most of us living out here are underweight and could stand to gain fifteen pounds or so. Kicked her in the gut so hard she spewed that fancy dinner right up. Made her wipe it off his shoes too. Was fucking crazy. Over almost as quickly as it started. One of the other girls rushed over, grabbed her, and fixed her up before they both went back on shift. And that's not the first time that something like that has happened recently, nor the latest shit. If you ask me, he's been going crazy on everyone, and he's just losing it and offing them. I mean, I don't have proof obviously, but with what the girls have been saying, and what I've seen myself, he looks like the prime suspect."

Tim furrowed his brow as he thought of possible ways of going about an investigation.

"Did Trina have problems with him?" He asked, watching Jason shift to press on his collar and snuggle deeper into the jacket, with a small smile.

"All the damn time lately. Like I said, they all have. He kept upping the percentage of his intake. She couldn't really swing it with two mouths to feed, rent, bills, and the kid's schooling. She had to work extra-long shifts just to cover what she was making comfortably just six months ago. She was tired as hell. These girls don't have the additional skills I do to go find a high paying one-night gig to pick up slack if need be. They'd get themselves killed trying."

"And it's been like this for everyone you said?" Tim frowned.

"Yeah, pretty much. I don't talk to everyone, but those that I do haven't had a damned good thing to say about the man as of late. Ever really, but more so now."

"Would they be willing to tell their ends of the story?" He asked hopefully.

Jason snorted.

"To you or the Bat let alone the cops? Not a chance in hell. Wouldn't tell me either if they knew it was for some investigation either. Like I said, being a snitch out here will get you killed. No one is going to talk about the deep stuff knowing it's being used."

"What if they _didn't_ know?" He suggested.

"What, like get them to talk, while I'm wearing a wire, like in some movie?" Jason tilted his head, grin reappearing for the first time since the conversation had started.

Tim snickered.

"Something like that. Except wires are too dangerous and easily found. We have better technology for that."

"Yeah, Bats and his fancy toys. Betcha he's got a zillion off-shore accounts funding this shindig." Jason nodded to himself, grin spreading to show more teeth.

"Maybe." Tim smirked.

Jason let loose a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair once more.

"Yes, I know… you can't say. Let me have my fun making theories, 'kay?" He laughed lightly, sitting back up cross-legged in front of Tim. "You need me to tell you where the bodies were and stuff? I mean, I didn't see most of them in person, but I hear things."

Tim shuddered and shook his head.

"It's horrible that you had to see _any_ Jason. But no, the GCPD will have the information in their files, even if they don't plan on investigating. I can pull the official documents from them and go from there. Also, we'll make Gordon aware of the full extent of the situation. He really is on our side mostly, unlike the other members of the department, and he will make sure that things are investigated more thoroughly from here on out. It won't really help with what is over and done with at this time, but if anything more comes up it will be forwarded to us without having to poke around for it."

"But you're going to go to the locations and have a look around for yourselves right?" The older teen confirmed.

"Yes, both myself and Batman will likely visit each crime scene. There is always something the police miss even on a case they are actually interested in, let alone those that they are not."

"When do you want me asking around?" Jason asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That will have to start tomorrow night. I will need to get the vocal chip ready for you, and that will not be happening any time tonight. The hard part of this will be doing things with your help without Batman actually knowing that I am having a civilian assist in the investigation. He will not be able to know that I received this tip from you, nor will he be given access to the vocal files you collect from the girls. I'll have to make handwritten hard copies of their stories and pass it off as though I actually got them to speak with me."

Jason scowled.

"Wouldn't like you associating with me eh? I get it, no big deal." He let out a snort, and fidgeted with the crumpled cigarette pack, contemplating whether or not to light up another.

"No, it's not that, at least not like _that_." Tim murmured. "Honest. It's just that he would not approve of me speaking to anyone on a regular basis while in costume. Our identities are everything. You are a security risk in his eyes. It would be different had we met while I was my civilian identity, but then, things wouldn't be like this. He…would not approve of my interaction with you, and he would demand that I cease and desist. He would make sure that I wasn't coming around here to see you again."

"So, he's paranoid of the world. Seems like something typical of a guy that runs around dressed as a flying rodent."

Tim sighed and shook his head with a slight chuckle.

"He's a great man. In and out of costume. Most people wouldn't think so I suppose. From an outside view he does seem a bit eccentric."

"Yeah, still going with the theory that he's loaded. Only rich people can be labeled 'eccentric' over insane" Jason laughed, watching a red hue spread across the younger boy's cheeks.

"Well, I will leave you with your theories." Tim chuckled lightly, ignoring the heat in his face. "I'll stop by your location early in the day tomorrow. That is, if you are actually here during the day?"

"Yup. People know where to find me if I stick to one location. I prefer my regulars over strangers."

Tim sighed.

"Very well. I can't give you a time estimate I'm afraid. My schedule is too unreliable. So I will just have to hope that I catch you. If not, I will be back around a bit later I suppose."

"Robin in the daytime? That might be a first." Jason laughed.

"Mmm."

"Not gonna tell me anything, are you?"

"Nope, not at all. You will simply just have to wait and see." Tim laughed, pulling himself to his feet, stopping a moment to stare down at the empty take out containers. "Jason?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Still hungry? Since my night off is seemingly shot to hell now, I ought to eat before I sit in front of a giant screen the next several hours." He grinned, holding his gloved hand out to the older teen.

Jason grinned, clasping onto the outstretched hand.

"I'm _always_ hungry, especially if you're buying, Bird-boy."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tim made his back to the cave just as 7pm rolled around, much to Alfred's surprise. As Tim had expected, Bruce was nowhere in sight, likely still on patrol despite having sent Tim home early for the night.

"Master Tim, what on earth are you doing back at the cave this time of night? One would think you would be back at home deep asleep. Master Bruce told me earlier in the night he had let you go early." Alfred scolded lightly.

Tim sighed and shot the man a small smile as he dove into the large chair in front of the computer systems.

"Things never seem to go as one plans Alfred. Got wrapped up in a complicated case on the way home, something the police have been ignoring I'm afraid. Nine women dead within a seven day span. All working girls. While the occasional loss of life is typical in their line of profession, you know as well as I that something is amiss there."

"Indeed Sir. Such a shame." The man tsked, shaking his head.

"Mmm…" Tim sighed, nodding his head. "Evidently it's one of Bullock's cases, and he's writing it off as nothing. The girls are all spooked. I suspect that the man running them is responsible, but there is no real proof to be found. It will take some looking into."

"I am sure that Master Bruce would agree. Should I tell him you need his assistance Sir?"

Tim sighed and drummed his fingers against the dash in thought.

"No, it is unlikely that I will require his input on things tonight, but chances are I will need him during the next few days at some point. Although, it would probably be wise to at least let him know that I am here and what I am up to so he doesn't worry. Last thing I need is for him to show up at home again if I don't pick up the phone and not find me there this time. He would pitch a fit."

"That he would." Alfred chuckled, turning towards the stairs. "Would you perhaps like some tea? I can go make some after I make the call to Master Bruce."

"That would be great Alfred. I have a feeling it is going to be a long night."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Not exactly a relationship building chapter, but good all the same I hope.

_**A Preview of Next Time:**_

Tim consults Bruce, and starts on his investigation. A daytime meeting between Jason and Tim has Jason rather amused. As Tim and Bruce investigate the situation, Jason attempts to dig things up himself to help speed things up for the dynamic duo. After a few days go by, and Tim's back on solo duty, Jason finds himself having to help pull Tim out of the fire. Unfortunately, things get interesting when Nightwing had also come to the rescue.


	5. Secret Services - Part TWO

When Tim had assumed that he was going to be in for a long night, that was an understatement. The Gotham City Police Department was disorganized at best, and the files on the nine dead women were far from categorized with one another.

Researching Marcel Degan was the easier task at hand. The man had a rap sheet a mile high from everything under the sun besides murder. He was European in origin, fifty-three years old, been in Gotham for forty-seven years of that, and had been in prison on three separate occasions over the span of his lifetime. Convicted of armed robbery at the age of twenty, Marcel served a ten year sentence, and had been released shortly after his thirty-first birthday. At the age of thirty-five, he was thrown back in prison on an aggravated assault charge, serving three years, and was released at the age of thirty eight years old. The last incarceration followed only two year later when Degan was charged with third degree possession of stolen property, but only served eighteen months in prison before he was released at the age of forty-two. Throw in various misdemeanors throughout the board and he had had plenty of criminal activity over the years. He had been 'clean' the thirteen years since.

Basically, he had been careful.

Murdering several women was a step up from previous charges, but if the drug rumors were true, it was not improbable to make the jump up from aggravated assault.

On several instances, three other men stood out in Degan's files. Hal Mudget (age forty-six) Alvaro Lighthall (age fifty), and Geoffrey Rolin (age fifty-five), of who Tim pulled the files of as well. In several instances not involving Degan, especially in recent years, there were plenty of crossovers.

Tim was halfway through locating the nine case files for the murdered women when Batman returned from patrol. Bruce greeted Alfred upon exiting the car before heading off to shower. Fifteen minutes later he joined Tim at his work station.

"So, Alfred tells me that you picked yourself up a case on the way home. Series of murders? Bullock slacking?" He sighed, placing a hand on the back of Tim's chair, looking over the data he had managed to pull thus far.

"Mmm… yes, slacking indeed. The murders were not even grouped together despite injury patterns being consistent with one another and each and every one of the crime scenes being within an eight block radius of one another. Cause of death on the girls I have already pulled the files of was inevitably asphyxiation, but every one of them suffered multiple points of blunt force trauma, lacerations, and various broken bones, particularly concaved ribs and scaphoid fractures."

"Assaulted, wrists twisted, thrown down, kneeled upon, then choked."

"So it would seem."

"Sexual assault?"

"Given their profession, it would be very hard to prove that any traces of semen or vaginal trauma were relevant to the encounter causing their deaths. In most of the cases, traces of DNA found on the victims matched multiple different sources, male and female. All victims were found fully clothed, although with minimal coverage, but motive was unlikely to be sexual in nature."

Bruce skimmed over things briefly before returning his attention to the team.

"How did you come across this case? None of these murderers occurred tonight, and I'm doubting Bullock offered it up."

"No, he's more likely to attempt to book me then ask for help." Tim chuckled. "I was actually hailed down. By one of the girls. She had given a statement to Bullock, trying to get him to look into things further but he laughed it off. Caught a glimpse of me on my way back home and called me out. Gave me what info she had and begged me to look into it said the girls were all terrified that they would be next. I know we don't normally get pulled into cases like this, but clearly this is only going to keep up if something is not done. Nine deaths in a single month is a tad bit extreme, even by Gotham standards." Tim half lied, telling Bruce as much as he could.

"Yes… yes it is."

"And regardless of what Bullock thinks, they're people too. They deserve justice and safety just like anyone else."

Bruce smiled warmly and nodded throwing a proud look over his shoulder at Alfred.

"That they do Tim. That is precisely what we are here for. To do what the GCPD cannot or will not do." He chuckled, ruffling the teen's hair. "Just do me a favor and don't get in over your head. Keep your coms open whenever possible, check in periodically, and please, call back up if needed."

Tim's eyes widened, and a large grin spread across his face.

"You're going to let me do this? On my own? Seriously?" he laughed in disbelief.

Bruce crossed his arms and sighed, a pleased expression on his face.

"Tim, you have been working with us for the past four years. I trust your judgment. Your mind is a powerful thing, and you are very capable of holding your own in a fight. The past year you have spent half the night patrolling with me, and Dick on occasion, and the second half of each night patrolling your own route. I think it's time I gave you a shot at taking on your own case, and what would be more perfect than letting you take charge on the first case someone approached _you_ with? It will be great to see what you can do when given free reign."

Tim was silent for a long moment before releasing a deep breath and smiling happily.

"Thanks Bruce."

"And you need not worry about patrolling with me. It would be best to let you keep your focus on the task at hand rather than attempting to force you to put it in the back of your head while roaming rooftops with me. If I need assistance, I'll have Dick come in and sub." Bruce added, giving him a pat on the back before turning and heading towards the stairs to retire for the night, Alfred following behind him.

With that turn of events, Tim felt incredibly relieved. Keeping certain aspects of the investigation from Bruce would all the more easy without him on the team as well. He gave a content sigh and continued skimming through the police files, looking for the remaining documents he had yet to locate. Eventually, he was able to track down the files on all nine women. He copied everything to an external drive and began picking through the data, noting the location of each crime and flagging them on a digital map of the area for future use.

Finally able to compare all nine case files at once rather than just the first few he was definitely able to conclude that every single woman had the exact same types of trauma and cause of death. No way the deaths were simply just coincidences at all.

Tim had a feeling that Gordon was going to have few choice words with Bullock by the end of this.

The autopsy photos were horrendous. Bruises mottling flesh in patches down the bodies, several contusions up and down their arms, legs, and heads. Painful, a frightening attack for sure, ending with strangulation. They had never had a chance. No files indicated that under the nail scrapings were ever taken, so he was going to leave Bruce a note telling him to pass that on to Gordon, and have him keep the bodies on site until such things were done.

Inevitably, Batman would have to handle things with Gordon due to their arrangements.

Tim paused at Trina's file, slumping into the large chair with a heavy sigh. She was a pretty woman before her untimely demise. Olive skin, dark hair, hazel eyes. No one had even thought to look for her son. Such a broken system Gotham had…

Stretching in the chair, Tim groaned and chanced a look at the clock. It would be seven in the morning soon, meaning he would need to get home and in bed if he hoped to have the slightest bit of sleep before things got chaotic later in the day.

He finished exporting the files, and disconnected his equipment, slipping it into his bag. He pulled himself from the leather chair and slipped into the locker room to change into his civvies. With daylight beginning to stretch its way throughout Gotham, returning home as Robin was likely to get himself caught.

He returned to his work area afterwards to grab his bag, slinging it over his shoulder, before he made his way to the storage area. He went through a few drawers and cabinets, grabbing odds and ends and stuffing them into his bag for safe keeping on the journey home.

Tim left the cave through the manor stairwell entrance, exiting the premises through the front door. He pulled the kickstand up on his bike he had left near the front door earlier in the day and walked it to the gates, typing in the key-code for them to open. He pushed through the opening and waited for the gates to clatter shut behind him before mounting the bike and heading towards home.

It was just after seven when he slipped through his bedroom door, locking it behind him. Tim got to work immediately, emptying his bag of its contents onto his desk, and spent the next two hours modifying, programing, and installing his bat-bug, ensuring that it was functioning properly, and correctly synced to his laptop. It was only after he was finished and fully satisfied with the results that he allowed fatigue to take him, and he crawled into bed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was noon when Tim let out a pained whine, the alarm blaring relentlessly just inches from his head. He slid his hand out from underneath the cocoon of blankets and flipped the switch, groaning as he forced himself to leave the comfort of the bed.

He had only allowed himself three short hours of sleep, and he felt just as drained as he should with only that. He made his way down to the kitchen slowly, gripping the banister as he shuffled down the steps half dazed. He robotically went about making his coffee before returning upstairs to shower. By the time he would be done, the coffee would be made and ready for consumption.

He turned the showerhead on full blast, adjusting it for the perfect heat, before he stripped out of the clothes he had climbed into bed with and slid in under the pelting stream. He took his time, letting the hot water sooth his sore muscles and inch him out of his daze.

With hair clean and body thoroughly scrubbed free of last night's dirt, he slipped out of the shower, wrapping a towel tightly around his waist, and made his way to his room. He hummed to himself quietly as he rummaged through his closet, laying clothes out on his bed. In the end, he settled on a grey turtleneck, and a pair of black slacks. He blew dry his hair and stared at his reflection in the mirror briefly before rubbing gel across his hands and through his hair, successfully getting his bangs out of his face and making himself look more tidy and presentable.

To be truthful, the only time he really ever bothered with primping himself was when he was forced to go to some event with his parents, or in recent years Bruce, but he was playing a part today, one that would require a different sort of look than usual.

He repacked his bag from earlier, with the addition of the laptop, and made his way down the stairs. He drank his coffee slowly, letting the caffeine take effect, and munched on some toast as he flipped through the morning paper. After he had a cup through his system he sighed, and grabbing his bag, he made his way out to the garage.

Tim rarely used the Redbird outside of mission purposes, as it attracted attention he never really wanted, but it was a useful form of transportation. The vehicle could go from fancy sports car to Robin-mobile in seconds (something he was sure Bruce had gotten the idea for from Dick watching Transformers when younger) which made it all together useful for cases such as this. He placed his equipment in the front seat, then made his way around the vehicle to the 'trunk', and wrenched it open. He pulled a black case out of the very back and popped it open, flipping through sets of license plates Alfred had made up for him in case of such occasions. He chose a pair from out of state, and took the time to swap out his official Gotham plates for them. When the car transformed, the plate settings would flip, showing the Redbird plates automatically regardless of what state plates he had on typically.

He wiped his hands clean on a nearby towel, and slid into the car, closing the door behind him. He reached into the back, retrieving his pea coat, and pulled it on over the turtle neck, buttoning it up. He set the laptop in back, and tucked his bag onto the floor of the passenger's seat, before he opened the garage door and started the car. The Redbird started up with a purr and he pulled out of the building swiftly, heading down the drive. As he pulled away, he closed the garage, and reached up to the visor, pulling a pair of slim sunglasses from beneath it, slipping them on as he drove.

As he pulled away from the Drake property he sighed, staring lazily down the empty property.

First thing was first… more coffee.

And perhaps food for both of them.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After Robin and he had eaten a hefty dinner, Jason had decided to call it a night, and had made his way back to the room he called home. He figured that whatever the Boy Wonder had planned for the following day would take a clear mind and well rested body, so sleep was the best bit of preparation he could follow through with.

He had climbed up the gapped and rusty fire escape, crawling through the opening in the boarded up window like every other night, before making his way down the creaky hall to his makeshift dwelling.

No electricity, no gas, and no heat to make it really habitable at night, nothing but the ragged mattress in the corner of the room and the half dozen moth eaten comforters he had acquired one by one over the years to keep him warm as the Gotham November came to a close. Jason could only be thankful that it hadn't yet begun to snow, and that the coat Robin had given him was plenty warm while he spent hours lurking out on the street. Still, the snow would be a bitch to live through once it decided to fall.

He had stripped down to his boxers, balling up the discarded clothes in his arms as he made his way to the bathroom. He turned the tub on full blast, and dumped the day's clothes under the freezing water. He scrubbed himself with the icy water and soap, leaning over the tub. He didn't dare soak himself anymore, not with the weather gradually growing colder, but at the same time he had to stay clean. So he suffered through the damp hair, and poured dish soap onto the sopping wet clothes, rubbing it in and squeezing repeatedly to get whatever grime acquired over the twenty-four hours to lift from the threads. His hands were numb from being submerged in the unheated water, but he rinsed everything until the water ran clear before wringing as much water out of the garments as possible and heading back to the main room. He had draped the damp clothes over the old dysfunctional radiator, and shuffled over to his bed, dropping down onto the mattress with a huff, cocooning himself in the covers. The clothes would dry by the following night, a bit stiff, but still clean.

When Jason had awoken in the morning, he reluctantly pulled himself out from underneath the warm covers, and crawled to the pile of mostly clean clothes he had in the opposite corner of the room. He yawned, stretching as he stood, pulling a pair of jeans up and over his long legs. He grabbed the first shirt he spotted, and slung it over his head, then sat back down on the mattress to pull socks and shoes on.

He was looking forward to helping, as much as he hated to admit it. He was more than aware that if someone caught him feeding Robin information it would put a target across his back, yet at the same time, he couldn't really bring himself to care. He would be saving people he saw on the streets every day, and he'd be having a damned good time doing it as the Bird could be highly entertaining. And of course, it would be a hell of a lot better of a way to go than starving or freezing to death. Or, well, at least _he_ thought so.

He had thrown his coat on, retracing the steps he had made the night before, slipping through the boarded up window and down the rickety fire escape. He stopped at a McDonald's as he walked down the street, buying a small cup of coffee with the loose change floated around his pockets. The warmth the cup offered his hands was nearly as useful as the caffeine boost it provided.

He leaned up against the brick wall of the building, watching the daytime buzz that the corner of Fare and Lok was at this hour. In the daylight, there was a very different kind of crowd, even in this seedy part of Gotham. Even here, from dawn until noon, the sidewalks were crowded with business folk making their way to whatever establishment gave them their paychecks.

For the most part, he and the girls were ignored as people stalked past staring straight ahead or reading their newspapers, so the girls mingled among themselves as he watched on. Eventually, he made his way over to them, smiling warmly as he joined in on their conversations.

Hours passed slowly, but it was nothing he wasn't used to. Daytime rarely brought a job along, but with nothing else to do besides sit in his cold room, mindless chit chat was better than nothing at all.

It was just past noon when the sidewalk traffic died down. One of the girls got lucky, and was flagged down. She gave a quick goodbye before she drove off with the man, leaving the group behind.

Sometime later, Jason pulled away from the conversation briefly, leaning back against the wall with his eyes shut as he smoked a cigarette. The wind blew chilly air past them, and he shivered slightly, reaching up to grasp the edge of his collar to give himself a burst of heat. He slumped slightly at the feeling and crossed his arms, shielding his hands. The cigarette was nearly at its end when another vehicle pulled down the street and paused at the curb. Veronica, one of the blondes, made her way over without hesitation. He watched her boredly as she leaned into the window, nearly bouncing to keep warm. To his surprise, she pulled away and looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with him.

"Jay-Jay!" She called out, waving him over as she stepped away from the vehicle.

He sighed, tossing the remains of the butt to the ground, stomping it out as he pushed off the wall and headed on over to chat it up with the man.

At the same time, an expensive bright red sports car rolled in and parked directly across the street. One of the girls immediately made her way on over, grinning as the window rolled down to reveal a young raven haired driver smiling up at her.

"What can I do for you hun?" She purred, draping herself in the window-way. "Lookin' for some company handsome?"

Tim fought his embarrassment, managing to contain himself as he addressed her.

"Actually, my tastes are somewhat… different." He stated bluntly, faint flush spreading across his cheeks.

The girl pouted, genuinely looking crushed as she turned towards the other vehicle and shouted.

"Jay?" She asked, grabbing the older teen's attention.

He looked up over the hood of the car at her, raising a questioning eyebrow as he nodded down at the vehicle he was already addressing, letting her know he was already busy.

That is, until he saw the car _she_ was standing in front of.

The girl gave an all knowing smirk, side stepping so he could see the driver, then was the one to cast _him_ an odd glance as the teen did a double-take before breaking out into a wide grin.

"Sorry man, gotta fly!" He laughed, abandoning the first car, earning a string of curses from the occupant as he strutted over to the Redbird, and the man pulled away tearing down the street in a huff.

The girl that had initially approached the Redbird met him halfway, wagging her brows as she mouthed 'nice' at him, and swatted him on the rear.

Jason was highly amused when he approached the window, cocking a hip before he draped himself within it grinning widely as he chuckled, looking him over.

"Dude… I'm not even gonna ask. But this is sweet." He groaned, eyes flickering across the interior, before falling back upon him. "Can I drive?"

Tim snorted, shaking his head.

"Most definitely not." He laughed.

"Damn. Had to try."

"Just get in the car."

"Gladly." He smirked, pulling away, before he slid over the hood and popped open the passenger side door.

He climbed in, shutting the door behind him, watching as the group of girls waved to him from their position across the street. He chuckled to himself as Tim started the car up with a loud rumble, and pulled away down the street.

For the first few blocks, Jason could only stare at Tim, taking in his attire and overall look as the younger teen drove steadily through the neighborhood, earning stares from the passerby's.

"So… what's your name today?" He asked, smirking as he propped his head up on a hand, leaning against the seat.

Tim frowned, never taking his eyes off the road as he pressed his lips into a tight line.

"What does it matter when what I say will be a lie?" He asked bluntly.

Jason flinched and let out a nervous laugh before running a hand through his mussed hair.

"Eek, sorry." He squeaked, holding hands up in defense.

Tim only slumped, and stopped at the stoplight, turning to him.

"No, I'm the one who is sorry. I don't mean to snap. It's just… I don't WANT to lie to you. So I would rather not say anything at all. Stick to your pet names, or Robin. They can go either way." He murmured, placing his focus back on the road as the light turned

Jayson grinned, content with that response.

The two drove silently for a while, and Jason watched the streets roll by with disinterest. Clearly the teen was not a talker as he was driving. Safety first, he supposed.

Eventually, Tim pulled off the main road, and drove down a secluded area behind an abandoned office building. He parked the car, flipping a switch on the dash, causing the windows to tint black, allowing them privacy.

Tim sighed, seemingly in relief and turned to him, a shaky smile planted on his face.

"Alright, what now?" The older of the two asked, gazing out the windows at their surroundings.

"Well, firstly…" Tim started, pulling a lever between the seats, causing them to move backwards flesh against the back seats.

It gave them plenty of space upfront to move around, and Tim gathered his bag from next to Jason's feet, and the laptop bag from behind, placing them in front of him.

"This is going to be…awkward." He responded bluntly, giving Jason an odd look.

The older teen only rose an eyebrow at him and cocked his head.

"Define awkward, because I'm pretty sure your definition of awkward is a hell of a lot more vanilla than mine." He chuckled, smirking at the boy.

"We'll see…" Tim muttered, frowning as he moved forward, reaching for the dash.

He pressed a button, causing a thin shelf to pop forward, just wide enough to place his laptop on. He then removed the computer from its case and set it there, booting it up, and opening a handful of programs. Jason watched him curiously as he did so, leaning over slightly to get a better look, relieved when Tim did not move to shield it from him.

"Look… what you are doing is extremely risky. You said so yourself last night. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt again, or worse. You already knew that I was going to bug you, and that my gear would be less conspicuous." He started, rambling on.

"Get to the point." Jason laughed, watching as Tim began to slowly but surely become unnerved.

Tim sighed, and reluctantly opened the bag, pulling out a steel case. He placed it in his lap and popped the latches, turning it as he opened it so Jason could see its contents.

The older teen paled, wincing as he looked at Tim questioningly as he glanced down at the metal instruments within surrounded by sterile packs and a small box.

"So, you're gonna shoot something under my skin?" He asked reluctantly, eyeing the largest piece in the center of the case.

"No, I- that's what your mind goes to?" He gasped, genuinely looking shocked at his assumption.

Jason couldn't help but snicker.

"That looks pretty gun-like, and I've seen a hell of a lot of Bond flicks." He smirked, nodding at the piece.

Tim laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well, you're wrong. I'm not planning on being that invasive." He sighed, pulling out the small box sitting next to the 'gun', popping the lid open. "This, is your transmitter." He stated, holding the box out to him.

Jason tilted his head, nodding slightly as he stared down at the small smooth chunk of metal.

"I'm not following…"

Tim sighed.

"Then listen. Not only will it give a direct vocal feed to this laptop, but it also dual functions as a tracking device. Meaning, if you get put in a position we were not anticipating, I will be able to find you, and get you the hell out of there. It IS invasive, as this, is an earring." He explained. "It will require me to put a hole through your ear, your flesh, something I feel highly uncomfortable about doing, but no matter what the situation is, it has the highest chance of staying on your person at all times. Clothes can be removed, as can shoes, and people are more likely to remove a necklace, ring, or bracelet for value purposes than a single earing without a match. The earring is also rather plain so as to not attract attention." He finished, staring at him expectantly, waiting for a reaction.

Jason stared at him silently for an agonizingly long moment before letting out a boom of a laugh.

Tim jumped in his seat at the sudden outburst, and stared at the teen with wide eye, certainly not having expected that.

"Guess this will help with your stalker fantasies, eh Baby-bird?"

At this Tim flushed a deep scarlet and gaped at him sputtering.

"It's not-this isn't…I, I mean…"

Jason bit his lip and laughed, shaking his head at the boy.

"Kidding Robin, kidding." He sighed, patting the teen on the thigh. "You gotta learn when I'm joking, or being sarcastic and such. Not that I don't enjoy seeing you get all flustered of course." He sniggered, watching him become even redder, if that were possible.

Tim let out a whine, and squeezed the bridge of his nose.

"By the end of this I'm going to have an ulcer…" he muttered, retrieving the gun from within the case.

Jason watched as he pieced it together, wiping the entirety of it with sterile disinfectant wipes, then attached the earing piece with a custom clamp.

Tim held it up for him to see, pointing to the actual earring within the clamp.

"The post is platinum coated to reduce the chances of an allergic reaction. The closure is a screw back to avoid accidently losing it. The earring itself is silver. Hollow on the inside, other than my tech. Not overly weighted, but it may take some getting used to at first, especially with the piercing being fresh. You will have to disinfect multiple times a day, and be sure to turn it every once and a while to avoid the skin attempting to bond with the metal at it tries to heal." He explained.

"We're doing this here?"

"Yes… unfortunately, I do not have a personal safe house that I can compromise for this case. I would rather _not_ do this in the confines of my vehicle, but at present, this is the safest location for us, and likely the most sterile." He sighed. "Why, would you rather me figure something else out? Because, I CAN-"

"Nah, this is fine." Jason chuckled, holding up a hand. "You just didn't seem like the type that would be comfortable with doing anything that could potentially get your pretty little sport coupé dirty. Speaking of which, how old are you? You even old enough to drive, you older than you look?" He asked, grinning.

Tim huffed, glaring halfheartedly at the teen.

"That is neither here nor there, but I am… younger than you." He answered bluntly. "And trust me when I say that this car has seen her fair share of gore. We have military grade disinfectant back at base, so it's never really a problem. Now, I need you to come closer and sit on the floor. I don't want you to jerk the wrong way and hurt yourself." He said, pointing to the empty space of floor in front of him.

Jason gave a lewd grin, and shuffled down to the floor, scooting forward on his knees. He propped his head up with hand, elbow resting on Tim's thigh.

"Ready when you are Boy Wonder." He drawled, smirking up at him.

Tim swallowed heavily, wishing he wasn't as red in the face as he knew he was, before he tore open the small square packaging of the sterile wipe (of which upon seeing said packaging Jason bit his bottom lip and shook to keep from laughing his ass off) and then wiped at the teen's ear, careful to cover every bit of the lobe.

"Please stop laughing… you are making this more awkward than it is, and I need you to not be shaking." He muttered, holding back a small smile he was sure Jason noticed anyway.

It did however get the job done, and Jason stilled. Tim carefully marked his target with the ink pen seated within the box, and he gently grabbed Jason's jaw with one hand to steady him. He lifted the gun, steadying it carefully as he lined the post up with the marking he had made.

He looked down at Jason, locking eyes with him. Jason gave a small nervous grin and gripped Tim's thighs, clinging tightly.

With a heavy sigh, Tim braced himself, tightening his grip on Jason's jaw, and pulled the trigger. The gun went off with a snap, and Jason's nails dug into his thighs as the teen hissed.

"You okay?" Tim asked, slowly pulling the gun away and setting it back into the case, before screwing the back onto the post.

Jason gave a shaky laugh, sitting up slightly.

"Yup. Just pulsing a bit."

Tim winced, and very carefully rubbed another sterile pad against the new piercing.

"Again, I'm sorry… I really am. At least when this is all over and done with, you can take it out and it will heal up quickly. There shouldn't even be a mark since it will not have been in long."

"Psh, no way."

At this, Tim froze.

"..huh? But-"

"Nuh uh. I like _all_ my gifts, even when they aren't intended to be one." He chuckled, titling his head at the teen. " 'sides, I think I like the idea of having something a part of me that is all you, _Robin_. Whenever I look in the mirror I'm gonna think about that. You've left your mark on me, and it's here to stay, whether you wanted that or not." Jason said with finality, face splitting out in his best Cheshire grin.

Tim could only stare at the teen blinking, an awkward silence stretching on even as Jason scooted backwards and hopped back into his seat. The older teen met his gaze, and flushing once more he turned is head away to stare out the window, all the while Jason never let up on that grin of his.

After a few minutes, which Tim used to recollect his thoughts, he gave a heavy sigh, squeezing his eyes shut, and willed himself to just let it go for now. Changing the subject all together, he reached backwards into the back seat, pulling a large paper bag out, and offered an awkward smile.

"Umm… hungry?"

"You even have to ask at this point?" Jason laughed, raising an eyebrow.

"Guess that was a silly question…" Tim murmured, stifling a giggle as he passed Jason one of the to-go boxes.

As they ate, Tim began to tinker around with both programs, verifying that both the sound bug and tracking device were functioning properly. When he was satisfied that they were both indeed functioning to the best of their ability, he grinned proudly and turned back to the eating Jason.

"This device will cover you no matter where you go. I have the feed bouncing off of a satellite on a secure channel, so there is no need to worry about range. Everything will be recorded automatically and downloaded into log folders every hour, making the information easy to sort through and label."

At this Jason stiffened, swallowing his food awkwardly, making him cough briefly.

"Everything?"

"Yes, should something come up at any time, it will be on file." Tim nodded. "Why?"

"You…sure you want _everything_?" He frowned, shifting nervously. "I mean, I get that you're kinda voyeuristic, but… I'm not exactly at my finest, or proudest most of the time…"

And that bit of realization left Tim horror struck

"No- no I didn't mean…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "Look, if you're with a… client… outside of this, I'll shut the program off. It will still record, but I trust that you will let me know if something potentially important was brought up. I… don't have to keep the unimportant files, and I won't listen to things I don't need to. It's personal, and that's not something I have the right, nor want to impose on. I get that. I… I definitely don't want to make you uncomfortable Jason."

"Yeah… thanks, really." He sighed, letting the tension slip away somewhat. "So, getting off this topic, what all do you want me to do? Am I winging it? Want me to get specific?"

Tim was also relieved to move on.

"Best thing is to be yourself. Get them talking casually. Inch them onto topic. Pry just enough to get key info, but not so much that they suspect something is up. Do _not_ put yourself in a risky situation. Be aware of your surroundings at all times."

"Gotcha."

"If you need me at any time, or vice versa, this will be our form of contact." Tim stated, reaching into his coat pockets. "These are disposable. There are limited minutes. Do not call any number besides the one programmed in as "_Prihor_". The rest of the imputed names and numbers are decoys in case the phone is misplaced or someone searches you. Any attempt to call them will result in voicemail, all set up with various voiced generic messages. Likewise, your number will be the only one I answer, and the contact list is also riddled with decoys. Try to keep the phone intact, but note that if it becomes damaged for any reason, it is NOT a big deal, so don't freak out about it. You can call at any time and I will respond. It may not be immediate depending on my present company but I will try my best to pick up as quickly as possible."

Jason grinned, taking the small flip phone from Tim's hand.

"Sweet. I get all sorts of goodies today."

Tim sighed and shook his head, giving the teen an exasperated look.

"Try and be serious Jason…"

"I totally am. Really." He insisted. "But seriously, I got to ride in a sweet ass vehicle, doing shit I've only seen in movies, got some secret agent Robin-made bling, and came away with a cell phone that is personally connected between the two of us alone. This may be all 'serious workly duty' to you, but shit… this is like Christmas for me. Better really." He laughed happily, grinning down at him.

Tim could only manage a small sad smile at that, before he forced himself back on topic.

"Alright, I think that about does it for the time being. We will meet up later, and I'll ready you for faze two. For now, I will be listening in, consulting Batman, and doing my own field work. Seems I have quite a few crime scenes to visit today. Hopefully I can come up with something that the police force missed."

Jason snorted.

"Well, that's highly likely. They weren't even trying."

Tim chuckled as he started the car back up, removing the tint from the windows, and jolting the seats back into place.

"Yes, well all the same, for most of the murders it has been a few days. Evidence could be long gone in that amount of time. Still, it's worth a look around at each and every site."

Afterwards, as Tim drove, things were silent once more. Jason took this time to finish exploring the vehicle, twisting and turning to get a look at every angle, staring off into the back seat.

"Someday, you're gonna let me drive this baby. I guarantee it."

Tim only laughed.

As they pulled down the street where Tim had initially picked Jason up from, the older teen began to laugh. Tim gave him a curious look as he parked, and raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize that the ladies are going to be talking about this for weeks right?"

"Huh?" he questioned.

"Dude, you pulled up in a fancy red sports car and whisked me away, and you're now dropping me back off. That doesn't exactly happen very often. I'm going to be envied and fawned over for days. 'bout to become Mr. Popular, which totally works considering I'm going to have to work the gossip chain. You have no idea how depressed they probably became when you wanted me instead of any of them."

Tim laughed and smiled at him oddly.

"I'm not sure if that's intended to be a good or bad thing, but alright."

"It's a good thing. Take it as a compliment. Especially while wearing that." he chuckled, wagging his brows at the younger teen, who only blushed in responce.

Tim parked the car and chanced a look out the window. Sure enough, the gaggle of girls from earlier were staring right at them, whispering amongst themselves. Jason snickered as Tim once again blushed heavily from the attention, and opened up the door.

"See ya later Bird-boy!"

Tim smiled as Jason got out, shutting the door behind him as he walked around the vehicle. He let the teen get halfway across the street before he rolled down the window, and peered out.

"Jay!"

Jason paused, and turned to him, an amused look on his face, before sauntering back up to the car. He leaned in through window, smirking at him.

"Yeah?"

Tim let his eyes flicker back to the girls across the street briefly before pulling Jason in close by the lapels.

"Make it believable. Buy the girls a meal too, get you and them out of the cold for a bit." He whispered, smirking as he tucked a roll of bills into the older teen's hand before pulling away.

Jason looked down at the money in his hand and beamed at him, knowing very well that from the angle they were at, the exchange would have looked somewhat more intimate then it had been. One thing was for sure, Robin knew how to put on a good show.

Jason pulled out of the window, backing away slowly as he watched Tim roll the window back up. He stood in the middle of the street, watching Tim pull away, until the beautiful red car was out of sight.

With a sigh, he tucked the wad of cash into one of the jacket's inside pockets, and walked back on over to the small crowd of girls itching for an explanation.

The blonde from earlier, Veronica, was the first to break the ice, giving him an excited but accusatory look.

"He the one who bought you the jacket?" she asked, grinning. "He is, isn't he? Gotta be."

Before he could answer, one of the other girls grabbed ahold of his chin, tilting it roughly to the side with a gasp.

"Did you just leave and come back with a piercing? Boy you're letting him mark you like that?" She huffed, tsking at him.

The third girl was far more blunt, laughing as she approached.

"Was he as fine as his ride?" She asked, eyeing the silver shining off his ear.

Back in the car, with the laptop open beside him as he drove, Tim was officially dying of embarrassment.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

This became a 3 part story arc rather than just a 2 part. I got far more into it than I thought I would. On the plus side, more fic for you!

Not posting a preview of the next chapter this tim, so you'll just have to wait and see!


	6. Secret Services - Part THREE

Sorry for the wait everyone! Life got in the way, as well as other fics. Had a bit of writers block here and figured it was best not to force it and write something horrible as I want to keep this fic going in the same way I started it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jason had to seriously restrain himself from laughing hysterically, knowing that chances were high that Robin was listening in on the conversation as the girls babbled on and on about what must have surely been one of his best days ever.

He couldn't help the grin though, and his cheeks were burning from it by the time they all calmed down enough to let him get a word in.

"Admittedly, I had a good time." He chuckled, shaking his head at their over enthusiastic squeals. "He's a decent guy. A bit timid, embarrasses easy, and far from being a creep."

"Kinda caught wind of that when I called you over. Looked like he was about ready to die of embarrassment when he told me he had 'other preferences'. Adorable really. He looked young too." The brunette giggled, quoting with her fingers in the air.

"Yeah, he wouldn't give me an age either. Likes to keep his secrets it seems. Can't blame him I guess, he'd probably get in a world of trouble if anyone found out he was doing what he was doing, and well… who actually gives us legit names anyway, huh?"

"Mmhmm."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, pausing as a low grumble sounded to his left and one of the girls flushed a deep crimson.

"What say we go get some lunch?" He offered, giving an all knowing look at the girl. "All of us. My treat. Fuckin' cold out. You've gotta be freezing your tits off Shelby, and you Veronica are out of your damn mind with those shorts." He grinned.

"Skin sells hun." The blonde sighed, rolling her eyes. "And you take care of _yourself_. Don't sit here worrying about us, you need the money just as much as we do, don't go blowing it on everyone else's stomachs." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jason only sighed, and reached within the jacket, pulling out the roll of bills.

"I think I'm good for a bit." He snorted, waving it in front of them. "Guy paid well too."

"Damn boy!" Shelby gaped. "There are hundreds underneath that twenty!"

At this, Jason did spare a glance down, unfolding the wad of bills within his hand, and in fact most of the bills were hundreds. He flushed, and was suddenly thankful that he hadn't counted it as he had left the car, otherwise he might have made a scene by shoving it back into the boy's hands. As is, he made a mental note to bitch the bird out later, as he sure as hell didn't deserve a 'gift' that big.

"You best hang onto that one. Pity he's got outta state plates..." Veronica sighed thoughtfully. "Usually not a good sign. Business trip? Or is he just new in town?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Didn't ask." He shrugged, wrapping an arm around the one girl's shoulder. "All I know is, we should all really go eat, before it gets busy and people wonder where the hell we all went.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tim had forced himself to resist shutting the laptop as he drove, cheeks aflame as he had listened to the girls converse with Jason about him, before they had eventually gone out to eat at the closest diner.

He pulled the car into a small warehouse, shifting it into its Redbird mode, before he gradually stripped out of his civvies and pulled on his Robin gear. Once he was settled, he muted the computer's sound, and pulled a phone out of the dash, contacting the cave as he placed it on speaker. It was initially answered by Alfred as per usual, before he was passed off to Bruce.

"_You're at it awfully early." _The man sounded amused as his deep voice filled the vehicle.

"I thought it would be best to take advantage of the sunlight while looking in on the crime scenes. Perhaps I'll be able to see something they missed? I will be starting with the most recent and working my way backwards." Tim sighed, hoping Jason had managed to avoid rolling onto the topic of him once more.

"_Probably a good idea. The last case has the highest probability of still having something of interest siting about. The locations of the murders from earlier in the week have had time to be picked through and rained on." _Bruce mused.

"That's what I figured."

"_Well, try and stay out of sight. Be thorough, precise, and be sure to contact me again before tonight's patrol. I'll have to be as precise as possible when briefing Gordon on the situation."_

"Roger that. Hopefully I will be able to bring more to the table by then."

"_Take care, Robin."_

"Will do."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The first few crimes scenes offered very little even with them being the most recent. Past the remnants of bloodstains in the asphalt, Tim had only been able to pull some fibers that may, or may not have been related to the crimes, only lab testing could offer any proof.

It was not until Tim hit the forth location that he found anything of interest.

Scrolling through the digital crime scene photos and comparing them to the location's current visual state revealed little change other than daylight despite the age of the crime. Something that was likely due to the overhang of a balcony just above. Things were seemingly untouched, the ground still rather stained with no one bothering to have cleaned the area.

After much poking around he made a discovery, something that had most definitely been missed due to the night lighting and exact placement, completely hidden from view unless you were on the ground at the right angle with the proper light source.

A ring.

The sunlight happened to hit and glint off of the silver just as he had risen his head from examining the pavement. He had scuttled over to the shine on his hands and knees, reaching far beneath the industrial trash bin to retrieve the small hunk of metal with a gloved hand.

A men's ring, size twelve, sterling silver, platinum plated. Something that would have definitely been snatched up had it been the slightest bit visible, but had remained untouched due to the coverage. Had he come to this particular location just a single day later, it likely would have been lost to the garbage men that would be due to arrive in the morning.

Tim had never been so grateful for investigatory timing, or trash only being collected once a week.

He bagged the ring, tucking it into his belt, before bolting back towards the location he had stashed the car.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The ride back to the cave started in near silence, the only sound now coming from Jason's end was the music of the city, nothing more than cars and sirens and the chatter of random passerbys, leading Tim to conclude that he was now once again alone and loitering outside.

With a sigh, he began playing back earlier conversations acquired over the past few hours, drowning out the mindless rambling whilst at the same time storing potentially relevant topics in the back of his mind for future use. Jason was admittedly adept at prying for information without making it seem the slightest bit obvious, although things often got off tangent, and remained unconcluded. Still, it was more than he would have been able to achieve on his own, the girls trusted Jason, and they were most definitely spooked, and knew who to be afraid of.

Although he had yet to visit half of the murder scenes, he felt it most important to get the evidence he had already found back to the cave to look into, then hand off to Bruce to give to the Commissioner later in the evening.

As it so happened, when he finally arrived back at the cave, Alfred was already waiting for him with coffee and scones at the ready, while Bruce was up in the Manor catching up on some much needed sleep.

Alfred left him in peace after being assured that he would indeed eat, which left Tim to concentrate at the task at hand as he skimmed file after file trying to match the silver ring with a suspect.

Over the course of the next hour, Tim plowed through the entire pot of coffee, half the tray of scones, and a seemingly endless stretch of files.

It was only after the second hour came and went that his search yielded any results…

And satisfactory they were.

The design of ring matched one worn by Lighthall in several photographs taken within the past three years. It had been difficult to find a photo with the ring facing head on to get a definite positive match, but after some digging, the computer had been able to unearth one.

This would not give them Degan on a platter of course, but the fact that he definitely had a connection through Lighthall brought a smile to Tim's face. Proving that Degan was involved with Lighthall would be difficult, unless of course the man felt like talking once Gordon got ahold of him, but he was confident that if he kept digging something else would surface that would help put the man away.

He downloaded what he had put together onto a blank drive, attached the bagged ring to its surface, and quickly began scrawling out notes consisting of his findings, as well as some choice things the girls had said for Bruce to look over upon waking.

"Nice to see you hard at work kiddo!"

Tim nearly leapt out of his skin as Dick's voice sounded from behind mere moments before an arm was slung around his shoulders.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He huffed, a small smile breaking free all the same.

"I was aiming for 'Happy Surprise', not heart attack, if that makes you feel better?"

"Hardly. What brings you out of Blüdhaven? Did Bruce know you were coming? He's asleep."

Dick grinned and ruffled his hair earning a sharp squawk of protest.

"Sure he did. He called me. He's got a gala tonight and said you had a pretty interesting case on your hands. Wanted me to patrol his route for him after he swings by Gordon really fast, and keep a com open just in case you needed assistance at some point. Can't say I blame the worrywart. Us Boy Wonders can get into some tight spots you know." He snickered happily, stealing a scone from the plate.

"Mmm… probably why he decided to sleep for once. He neglected to tell me of this gala though."

Dick rolled his eyes.

"Bruce never likes to talk about '_Brucie'_ nights. But no, seriously. Probably just didn't want to bug you during your first big solo case." He smiled, lifting himself up to sit on the edge of the council. "Were you just about to head back out?"

"Yeah… do me a favor and pass these along to Bruce." He asked, handing Dick the drive, ring, and notes. "I still have four crime scenes to hit and potential leads to follow through with. I'll give you a shout if I need you at any point, alright?"

"Sure thing Timmy! I'll be sure to finish off your scones as well. No sense being wasteful."

Tim chuckled.

"You go right ahead and do that, Alfred will be pleased." And with that, Tim spun on his heel and made his way towards the garage, returning to the Redbird.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was only a short drive to the first of the remaining four crime scenes, the trip spent setting his systems back up.

Unfortunately, there was little to be seen. The ground had been washed clean, and much of the area had either been wind swept, or picked through. There was nothing to be found. After the last location had proved to be worthwhile, the lack of remnants at the current was disheartening.

He returned to the Redbird shortly after arriving, and sat in the driver's seat plotting out his next visitation spot. Things were sure to become difficult shortly, it was getting late, and the sun was setting fast as typical in Gotham with all its tall structures. Bruce would be off to see Gordon shortly, and Dick was sure to be suiting up at the present. It was a hard choice, deciding whether the next spot would be the last for the day or if he should pursue the final two afterwards despite how dark it would be by the time he could get to them.

In the end it was just easier to take things as they happened and decide when he got to that point.

With a sigh, he tapped at a few keys and pulled the audio program up, tuning it to Jason's frequency to check in on what the teen was up to.

He wished he hadn't.

Tim froze, shoulders stiffening, and throat locking as a groan echoed through the speakers. The wet slap of flesh on flesh reverberated through the vehicle, and he stared at the sound waves fluctuating on the small screen in horror as his hand tightened around the steering wheel in a death grip.

A deep chuckle sounded between pants with a sharp whine following…

Tim slammed the laptop shut with excessive force, shaking the entire dash as he blanched.

He had known that this could happen- _would_ happen… It wasn't as though he could have kept Jason from his '_job'_, no matter how much he wanted to. He needed the money to stay alive, and halting _everything_ just to help with a case was unrealistic…

Sure, he had given him a pretty penny when he had set him loose after they had discussed their initial plan, but it was not enough to last. Not even enough to get through the week when stretching it to the last dime. He was not foolish… he _knew_.

Even so, it tugged at his heart, and filled him with self-disgust. He was appalled that he was simply going to have to brush it off, let things happen, because there was nothing he could do to change Jason's situation. He was revolted by the fact that he was letting it carry on, even though he could so easily trace him to his location, bust in, and arrest the man for statutory rape despite the sharp protests Jason would surely make.

Instead he simply shoved the laptop off of its platform onto the passenger seat, pulled his knees against his chest, and buried his face in them, willing himself to forget the things he had heard, and his chest to stop aching.

Witnessing things suddenly made everything all the more real.

It wasn't a good feeling…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It had taken some time to recover from the shock he had received in hearing Jason's activities, but eventually he did manage to pull himself together and drive out to the next location.

It was difficult to concentrate between the dissipating sunlight and the sound of Jason's keens echoing in the back of his mind.

With each passing minute it got harder and harder to see, and soon he was relying solely on a LED flashlight to illuminate the dark alleyway.

After scouring the area for clues for nearly a half hour, he gave a heavy sigh, and nearly turned back.

Only…

He moved a soggy collapsed cardboard box out of the way in passing, unearthing a sewer grate beneath it. In curiosity, he shone the light down into the open space below, eyes scoring the depths below for anything of interest.

And there was.

Tim pulled a tool from his belt, undoing the latches on the grate, before tossing it aside and leaping down into the sewer below.

The water was only just barely ankle deep, making it easy to move around, and he bunched his cape up onto his shoulders as he crouched down in front of the chamber wall.

Situated directly below the entrance above, caught on a jagged edge where the concrete surface had broken away some time ago, was a length of rope. Theoretically, if one wished to dispose of it quickly, dropping evidence down a sewer line was a sure way to do so, especially in Gotham. The piece of rope getting snagged on the wall allowing for it to not get washed away was pure chance and dumb luck. Each and every one of the girls had been strangled, so there was a possibility that the item was related.

He held the flashlight steady in his teeth as he reached into his belt, pulling out a larger baggy, and then gently tugged the rope free of its holding. He brought it close, moving so the light was shining directly on the twisted fibers, and examined the twists and turns thoroughly.

Dirt… foreign fibers… and bingo, blood and flesh rubs.

All it would take was matching the blood and skin cells to the crime scene's victim, or any of the other victims for that matter, and it would be another small piece of the puzzle to give to Gordon. More so if anything coating the fibers cold be directly linked to Degan, Lighthall, or any of the other past accomplices.

With a grin, he slipped the flashlight around his wrist by its strap and pocketed the rope stuffed baggy, launching himself back up and out onto the street.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Visiting the remaining locations in the darkness that had come would have been pointless so Tim decided to forgo them all together until daylight came once again. Instead, he drove back to the cave to drop off his findings and examine the surface content of the rope fibers.

Alfred once again deposited a pot of coffee at his work station, not forgetting the disapproving frown before muttering, just loud enough for him to hear, about stunted growth.

To which he only chuckled in response.

It was meticulous work picking at the fibers beneath the magnifying glass; tweezers working gently to loosen dirt particles and skin scrapings, then snipping and storing fibers with blood staining.

He had been at it for well over an hour, Alfred upstairs within the manor presumably cleaning one area or another as he worked, when things changed…

Tim stiffened, feeling his chest tighten in dread as the phone tucked away within his belt began to vibrate. Jason calling at such an awkward time immediately set his heart racing in worry; especially when the last he had tuned into the teen's frequency he had been… well, with a client.

He slunk away from the work station quickly, scrambling into the nearest catacomb, tucking into a shadowy corner before he pulled the cell from his belt and flipped it open.

"What's wrong?" He prompted at once, forcing his voice to stay steady despite his nerves.

"_Yo… Robin?_" Jason's voice echoed from the speaker hesitantly, but did not at all seem alarmed, forcing a sigh of relief to spill from Tim's lips.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"_You weren't listening to me… I've been trying to get you over here for the past hour. Seriously, I've got something you need to see, outta be more than enough to get Degan off the streets._"

Tim's dread slammed a wave of urgent panic through his chest.

"Jason what did you do? Where are you?" He was racing through the cave towards the Redbird at once without even waiting for a response.

"_Whoa… chill! I'm- well, I'm at the docks… got pictures, video, and everything. Seriously this is it, what we needed. This phone is great-"_

"Get out of there!"

"_But, no one can see_-" The older teen seemed genuinely confused at his panic and Tim bit back a growl as he slid into the driver's seat.

"You have no idea how stupid- how much danger you have put yourself in! How could you risk yourself like that? Get out- wait… no, no don't get out. Stay concealed and stay put. I will come get you. No more risks… god… you could have been…"

"_I-I … yeah okay… 'm sorry…_" He murmured sheepishly, and Tim would have felt bad if not for the situation. "_I just… wanted to help, make things easier?_"

"That's all fine and well, except that you've climbed into a snake pit… where exactly are you?" he groaned, starting the car.

"_Umm… well, I'm not entirely sure really-_"

"JASON!"

"_Couldn't you just, I don't know, track the phone? Lots of hallways, offices, and warehouse space. Moved around a lot, not too sure where I came in, what I passed… I could send you the photos and stuff? That might help?"_

"You do that… and don't move, do not make a single sound, level your breathing, and stay put." He didn't want to add that sending the photos and videos, making a second copy exist on Tim's phone, was the only way to be sure that everything Jason had done had not been for nothing in case he was discovered and the evidence was destroyed.

_All_ of it.

Within moments of hanging up, the phone buzzed to life as he received the files one by one, and he glanced over them.

They were not comforting in the slightest.

Jason had managed to capture photos of drugs still packed in crates, the faces of men in on the operation, Degan himself handling the goods…

Better yet, or worse depending on your point of view, he had even managed to film Degan implicating himself in the distribution, as well as joking about the latest of the murders, something he was sure had had Jason fuming. While that was surely miraculous, and would do wonders for Gordon's investigation and lead to Degan's arrest, it made Jason too involved… at risk, a target, and at Degan's mercy as he sat defenseless wherever he had stashed himself away all without him even knowing _how_ Jason came into his information, or _when_ he ended up at the docks, though he had his suspicions now… something he didn't want to think about.

Tim could not help but be worried that he might not make it in time to pull Jason out of danger, that he could very well be at risk of becoming the very next addition to the line of bodies in the morgue, all because he had been foolish enough to bring a civilian in on a case, something Bruce had very specifically preached against when he had first put him through his training.

He cursed himself the entire drive to the dock, flying well past the speed limit, knuckles white as he clenched the steering wheel...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He had to abandon the Redbird and tuck it out of view well away from the warehouse Jason's tracer had him pinpointed within. It was a massive building surrounded by storage units, containing not only a massive shipment department, but several office areas and temperature controlled units.

Jason had been far too vague for his liking in regards to location. Even with uploading the signal to a portable device there were so many twists and turns within that it would be difficult to get to him in a timely manner without being seen or heard, and then there was the actual problem of getting them _both_ out safely whilst doing the same.

It was a mess.

It was his fault.

As he made his way slowly through the halls following the signal he was on edge. Any little noise had him tensing and stopping in his tracks as he flattened himself against a wall or pulled himself up onto a ceiling pipe. He could not imagine how Jason had gotten inside on his own without being noticed, without someone catching him, and he only hoped that after their conversation had ended he had not been discovered.

He had yet to see any signs of human life within the building, and it was unnerving to say the least, considering the several individuals Jason had videotaped and photographed. Everything else was still in place, and Tim had to admit that this was indeed a large find, which could have possibly been found too late, or not at all if Jason had not uncovered things.

It forced him to admit that he was likely in way over his head, and could possibly lose out on everything once he had ahold of Jason if he did not ask for help… which prompted him to suck it up and back into a corner, activating his com.

"This is R, requesting immediate backup from N… Cape Carmine docks, reference tracer for exact positioning. Large bust, primary and secondary suspects presumably in the building... Switching back to radio silence… R out…" he murmured, sighing at the end of the transmission.

Bringing Dick into the situation was risky from a personal point of view, but he just had a _feeling_ that things could go south without him… and Tim always went with his gut.

His heart hammered in his chest as he resumed weaving through the building. For a time, it hadn't even seemed like Jason's blip on his screen was getting any closer, but after the first half hour had rolled past while he moved at a snail's pace, he had finally gotten somewhere.

And of course, still no life to be found.

As he homed in on the blinking dot upon the screen his stomach lurched in anticipation.

Something just felt so very wrong…

He approached the next corridor slowly, slipping the device back into his belt, replacing it with a batarang in one hand as he reached for his staff with the other.

The small storage room he approached had several halls branching off of it, no doors on any of the entrances. He slipped in briskly, eyes darting about frantically as he tried to spot the other boy, and he hadn't far to look. Jason sat atop a crate at one end of the room, arms crossed across his chest as he stared at the floor.

Tim took a step forward, the noise alerting Jason to his presence, and he watched the teen's head jolt up to meet his gaze.

He only barely managed to see the purple splash across Jason's cheekbone before the teen's eyes bulged.

"ROB-"

Jason was cut off by a fist in his hair, and the cock of a gun as Degan appeared behind him, stopping Tim dead center of the room. He swallowed thickly, gripping his jacket arms tightly as the barrel dug into his temple.

"Not another step kid…"

And there was that feeling from earlier…

"Degan." He growled, a faint shadow of what Bruce was capable of, noting Jason's cell laying in pieces on the ground against the far wall.

As he had feared, the call alone had gotten him caught… and Tim was relieved that not only had Jason managed to send him everything, but he had left his cell in the Redbird, copying the files to his portable system, allowing for multiple other copies.

"You bats sendin' whores out into the field to do your dirty work now? Kinda pathetic if you ask me…" The man snarled mockingly, tightening his grip on the black locks in his hand, earning a hiss from Jason.

Tim's eyes narrowed behind his domino as he scanned the room, looking for a way to release the teen without any bloodshed on either of their parts.

Unfortunately, he was coming up with nothing.

'_What would Bruce do?_' He asked himself, actively avoiding remembering that he would have done none of this the way he had in the first place…

"Kinda tuggin' hard there old man, and not in a good way…" Jason growled snapping Tim's attention back to him.

Degan's lip curled, and he only seemed to grip harder judging by the tight clench of Jason's jaw thereafter.

He was getting agitated, and Tim could see that despite the dominant front the man was putting on, he was jumpy. It was a chilly night, and the warehouse offered little warmth, yet the sweat was rolling off Degan in streams.

And that gave him an idea…

While most of the man's attention was on Jason's discomfort, Tim slipped a pick from the lining of his glove, pinched it between two fingers, and flicked it across the room towards one of the other hall entrances.

The sound of the small stick of metal hitting the cement had its desired effect, Degan jumped, and in that instant loosened his grip ever so slightly, and Jason rammed his elbow backwards into the man's gut.

Tim moved quickly, using the batarang to launch the gun out of the stunned man's hand, allowing Jason to slip away and dive across the room while he lurched forward with his staff out in front of him.

But Degan recovered quickly, and sent a small crate flying at Tim's feet, almost knocking the teen over, before whipping another one at his head.

Tim barely managed to pull his arm up in time for it to hit him, splintering off into chunks as it hit the glove's metal ribbing, several small jars from its contents falling and bursting into pieces as they hit the ground.

Before Tim could recover, Degan was through one of the walkways, slamming his hand against the wall.

Tim moved to follow, but a loud buzz echoed through the corridor, and he only just managed to fall back in time for a metal grate to drop from the ceiling, effectively cutting off his access to the man.

Degan looked smug as he smirked at them through the gaps in the barrier.

The man lit a cigarette, taking a long deep drag before blowing smoke into Tim's face as he watched them with an amused expression.

Jason's hand gripped onto the back of his cape, and Tim flinched, having not even noticed his initial approach.

"A grate won't stop us Degan, there are plenty of other routes and unless you have something else up your sleeve, you're currently unarmed." Jason snorted, pressing up against Tim's side.

Whether it was for his comfort, or his own Tim wasn't sure.

Degan looked far too pleased for his situation though, and it unnerved him…

"You fools have gotten nothing tonight! All of this, whatever it is, will have been for nothing!" Degan laughed at them, clinging to the crosshatched steel barrier.

"We have the proof Degan, for the drugs, and the murders. You will not get far, and soon enough we will have you behind bars, I can guarantee that!" Tim growled.

Degan only smirked, and flicked his cigarette butt through the grate at the Robin, where it soared off course over his shoulder.

"You missed!" Jason snarled, stepping forward, only to be held back by Tim with a fist in his jacket arm.

"You two are so confident in yourselves… such children." The man spat, turning away from them, and starting down the hall. "But unfortunately, you fail to realize that you can't convict me if you're dead!" He cackled, disappearing into the shadows at the end of the hall.

Tim blanched, mind racing, thinking of what he could have possibly missed throughout the whole ordeal.

It was then that Jason's eyes widened, and he spun to look behind them, letting out a choked gasp.

"Fuck, gotta move Robin!" Jason exclaimed, grabbing hold of Tim's wrist.

"Huh?" Tim only managed a brief glance behind him before Jason was quite forcefully dragging them off down the hallway from which he had come at top speed.

His heart was hammering in his chest as they fled the scene.

The cigarette had not been aimed at him…

Degan had not missed…

He had thrown it straight at the pile of forgotten crates lining the walls. Crates that had been filled with chemicals, and jars of some unknown substance.

There was going to be one hell of a big bang, and no telling when.

They only made it two stretches of hallway before the first explosion shook the building to its core, nearly knocking both boys off their feet. They barely steadied themselves before they sped around the next corner, feeling the approaching heat from behind.

Tim chanced a quick look behind them, and wished he had not, as the flames were chasing them barely forty feet behind them. He kept a firm grip on Jason's sleeve as they raced down the halls, and he frantically tried to remember just how many turns he had made, how many feet long each hall had stretched.

Tim was never so happy to see an exit in his life when they came rushing at the warehouse's double doors. The moment passed as quickly as it had come however, as the second explosion sounded off, far too large, and close for comfort.

As they pushed through the doors making their way to freedom, Tim leapt upon Jason, knocking him onto his back as they came crashing to the ground, just as the building front blew to pieces. Tim pressed them as flat against the ground as they could go, pulling his cape tightly over them both, eternally grateful that he had opted for a cape nearly twice as long as the one Dick had sported as the heat washed over them and debris fell from the sky coating the area.

He clung to the boy beneath him, waiting for the heat to dissipate, the roar of the explosion and flames to die down. He could feel Jason's pulse racing, and hear the older teen's panicked breathing, and could only pray that he had not injured him when he had thrown him to the ground so abruptly.

They lay silently, clinging, and breathing heavily as they waited. It had been a touch over ten minutes before Tim felt it safe to move, and he pushed himself up gently, bracing himself on Jason's shoulders as he shrugged off bits of wood and plaster that has been resting on the outer layer of the cape. He drew in deep shaky breaths as he sat upright in Jason's lap, heart thrumming as he took in the damage of the premises that they had only narrowly escaped being a part of. Ash fell from above, and smoke billowed in the sky, making Tim shudder with just how close they had come to being blown to pieces. He stared down at the other boy nervously, still holding the teen's jacket tightly in his grasp.

"Are- are you alright?" He murmured, voice shaking, his entire body seemingly vibrating from his nerves.

Jason opened his eyes slowly, hesitantly, and began to squirm somewhat. After briefly checking his various muscle movements, he nodded, giving a weak smile.

"Yeah, I'm good, I've hurt worse." He mumbled. "Fancy cape you've got there… Full of all sorts of surprises." He gave a nervous laugh, twiddling with the edge of it.

"Yeah…" Tim returned his smile, gazing down at him, slumping with relief.

Without any pause or warning, Jason gripped the ends of the cape tightly, tugging it downward sharply, causing Tim to fall forward back on top of him. Tim yelped, catching himself before he could head-butt the older teen, only for Jason to reach up and tug his head back in close with a hand full of hair in the end anyway. He stiffened, eyes bulging as Jason pressed closer, and he gave a weak attempt at pulling back despite how tightly he was locked in place.

Then suddenly, Jason was sucking on his lower lip, and Tim couldn't bring himself to think anymore. He clenched at the jacket lapels, squeaking as the other boy's tongue forced its way between his lips. Jason kept his hand tangled within his hair, holding him still while his other arm wrapped around his waist, tugging him in until he was pressed flesh against him like earlier.

As luck would happen to have it, it was also at this time that Nightwing appeared on scene, and he sat wide eyed, perched upon a storage unit as he gazed down at the two teens lying upon the debris covered ground.

Tim lay slumped against the older boy, melting against him as Jason sucked at his tongue and nipped at his lip, rubbing circles into his back as he coaxed a whine from his throat. When Jason finally released his tight grip, and pulled away, Tim lay panting, pupils blown wide as he met his gaze. Jason did not move to stop him as he sat upright, cheeks ablaze, only grinned up at him with a content expression on his face.

Tim averted his eyes briefly, feeling the blush deepen further as he surveyed the warehouse, front blown open with flames still flying within.

He shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

"You okay?" Jason asked from beneath him, an edge of worry in his voice as he snapped Tim out of his thoughts.

He nodded, giving a small sigh as his shoulders slumped.

"Robin!" Dick took this as his cue to interrupt, in effort to avoid jumping in and accidentally disrupting the two, if by chance whatever was going on happened to continue.

He only partly regretted this decision when Tim jolted, nearly toppling off the older boy as his head snapped up in his direction.

Tim stiffened as he stared, and Jason tilted his head back to see the blue and black clad form atop the unit, groaning unhappily as he recognized the figure.

Dick hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt as he gave the two a lopsided grin.

"Looks like things got blown out of proportion before I could get here!" He chuckled, cocking a hip as Tim rolled off of Jason into a stand.

The Robin groaned at the pun, shaking his head as he took a step forward, holding a hand out to Jason to help him up. The older teen wobbled slightly, but caught his balance quickly, shaking off whatever bruises and scrapes he had acquired in the ordeal.

"You two okay down there? Looks like I missed one hell of a party…" He frowned, watching the flames crackle and climb as walls continued to crumble.

Tim nodded slowly, turning his gaze.

"Yeah but… Degan got away. The others were gone before I even arrived apparently. He locked himself behind a grate, and blew everything to pieces before we even knew what was happening. I do have photo and video evidence, but I highly doubt that he will be sticking around after this… I'm sorry… I really messed this one up." He sighed, hanging his head.

Jason could only stand around, awkwardly shifting his weight as the two talked, wondering when shit would hit the fan for the _third_ time that night.

But Dick broke out into a smug grin.

"Not Quite! The reason it took me so long to get here was that I caught the guy trying to make a getaway. He's out cold, zip tied, and secured awaiting transport. Nabbed him at the back end of the building right before the explosion." He laughed. "Good job kiddo!"

Tim's blush deepened, but he returned the grin all the same.

"That's great! D-_Nightwing_, you're amazing! I thought for sure that he would disappear with all I had on him. This wasn't a waste after all."

"I know. I'm just awesome like that." Dick smirked, eyeing Jason briefly. "But I'm afraid some things still need some clearing up. Can we talk in private, _Robin_?"

Tim's grin immediately fell, but he nodded all the same, breaking away from Jason's side as he hesitantly followed the man as he dropped behind the storage unit.

Dick got right to the point, giving Tim little time to collect himself before hands were on his shoulders and he was looking up into the man's eyes, lenses down now that they were alone.

"Okay, who's that? Does Batman know about him? Why is here?"

Each question made the shame wash over him in waves and his stomach clench.

He had been so foolish…

"He's… Jason." He stated bluntly, figuring that lying to Dick was next to pointless. "He is actually the one who alerted me to this case, wanted me to help..." he murmured, averting his gaze.

He could feel Dick's hands tense on his shoulders before he heard the sharp intake of breath.

"So… it wasn't one of the girls?" It wasn't accusatory, but it might as well have been given the situation, and Tim shook his head.

"No, he's – well, I mean…" He stumbled over his words shakily, cheeks aflame as he squirmed in Dick's grasp.

He looked up briefly to see the realization spread across Nightwing's face.

"Oh… _oh_…" Dick nodded, getting the idea, a faint flush creeping across his own cheeks. "And you brought him here on the case with you? Robin, I'm sure I don't have to tell you how utterly stupid-"

Tim shut him down quickly with a soft shove to the chest and a ragged sigh causing Dick to be the one squirming.

"He came here on his own… I have already given him a mouthful, and he's already learned his lesson. He called me to the location. I would have never put him or any other civilian in harm's way by sending them in so deep. Trust me. I came here to get him, see what he was talking about, and then get going, but it was too much to pass up, and too much for me to handle alone, hence calling for backup. I was just as, if not more alarmed than you when I found out he was here."

"And how pray tell _did_ he inform you that he was here, hmm?"

Tim responded only with distressed silence and a panicked look.

Dick sighed, and ran a hand through his wind mussed hair.

"Well, you did a smart thing. But you really need to stress to your _friend_ that he could have wrecked your whole operation, or worse, gotten one of you two killed."

"A-Actually… _he_ saved _me_. If not for him I would have been caught up in the explosion. I had completely forgotten about the chemicals, hadn't even seen the flames for that matter… He was pulling me out of the room before I even managed to catch sight of why he was panicking." He admitted sheepishly.

Dick looked as though he were on the verge of dragging him back to the manor right then and tying him up in the cave for safe keeping.

"Okay, I'll give him that, but if not for him you wouldn't have even been in that position to begin with. Let's not make excuses. Just… don't let it happen again, 'kay kiddo? Seriously, you make me realize just how much I put Batman through getting caught and roughed up all those times back when I was young. Man's got some strong nerves…" He laughed half-heartedly.

Tim slumped his shoulders and nodded softly.

"Alright… that's manageable, promise."

"Good. Now, back to the main concern, how much does he know?"

"Know?" he blinked, gripping the edge of his cape, whether an unconscious action or not.

"About us. _All_ of us, what we do, who we are?" He pried gently, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around the boy and pet his hair soothingly after the long fiasco.

Tim jolted back to life in an instant, a startled expression gracing his features.

"Oh! No, nothing, I swear! I've been very careful. I mean, it's not _fun_ hiding things and keeping secrets, but… it's not my secret to tell. I've felt that way forever. You know that…"

"Yeah, yeah I do kid, and I'm proud of you for that. Just had to be sure though, ya know? Now, go say bye to your friend, and we'll get Degan _and_ any evidence over to Gordon, and then we can get you back to the cave so you can write up your report and Alfred and I can baby you accordingly." He chuckled.

Tim however looked seemingly defeated once more.

"Right…"

"It's probably best that we leave _whatshisname_ out of the picture, or B will have both our heads. Again, just don't let it happen a second time. It's not a risk we can take. He's a civilian, not even another cape. Take it from a guy who knows, _I mean REALLY knows_, relationships of any kind with a civilian hardly ever work out of costume, let alone _in_ costume. Save yourself the heartbreak. I've lost plenty of potential good friends and lovers that way."

Tim squeezed his eyes shut, and slowly pulled away from the man.

"I'm going to need a moment…" He mumbled awkwardly, turning towards the direction from which he had come.

Dick only nodded and watched him go with a sympathetic gaze.

When Tim rounded the corner and appeared from behind the storage unit Jason could already feel the dread as he watched Robin's defeated face.

He tried to seem optimistic, throwing on a lopsided grin as the boy approached, but it only seemed to make the younger teen shrink in on himself further.

"So… how pissed is Big-Blue?"

Tim stopped and let out a ragged sigh.

"Actually, Nightwing has been pretty understanding of things. It would have been a lot worse if it had been Batman. Still, this can't happen again…" he murmured.

"Already said I wouldn't do nothin' like this ever again, geez… no need to tell me again, especially after _that_..." He huffed crossing his arms.

Tim gave him a pained look, recognizable even with his lenses down.

"No… he brought up some very valid points. You could have been hurt tonight. That would have been on my hands. You should not have come here. When you called and told me that you were here what you were doing… you have no idea how afraid I was."

"Yeah, but I'm fine! You're fine! Degan's in custody, the evidence will keep him there, and the girls are all safe. Sure it was a bit risky, but hell, don't the results justify all that?"

"No."

"What do you mean, _no_?"

"I'm not sure how you knew to come here, or what to look for... I'm not sure I even _want_ to know, but putting you in danger cannot be justified-"

"Did what I had to, to get the job done! I was the one who put myself in danger!" He growled, tossing his hands into the air.

Tim flinched, and shook his head sadly, setting a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"No… no you didn't." he sighed rubbing at his temple.

"I don't under-"

"I got you involved. I could have simply looked into things on my own… done things the hard, but correct way, with you out of the line of fire instead of sending you out into the field to probe for information. Had I just let things be, you would have never been at risk, instead I selfishly drug you along with me, knowingly putting you in harm's way, and that just cannot happen. He had a gun on you Jason. He could have pulled the trigger… Things should have never come this far. I should have-"

"Left me on the street corner." Jason spat, pulling out of Tim's grasp, backing away.

The pain was evident on Tim's face as he stood shocked with his arm still outstretched toward him.

"I… I didn't say that-" he murmured, stepping forward slowly.

He only retreated further, and Tim could no longer see the trust that had once been in Jason's eyes, which made his heart ache.

"Might as well have, and you meant it all the same…" He muttered, turning on his heel. "Should've never called you out… let you keep being a creep. I'm outta here…whatever…"

Tim couldn't bring himself to stop him as he stormed off into the distance, not with the danger he had put Jason in, not with what Dick said having been the truth…

He watched Jason go until the light from the flames no longer reached him and he disappeared into the night.

When he turned, Dick was waiting for him beside the unit with a pained look on his face.

The walk towards the man felt like miles, the night events catching up with him all at once. He felt Dick's arms wrap around his shoulders in a tight embrace, one he felt unable to return. He let his forehead rest against his chest, eyes drifting shut as he willed his nerve to return. His throat was tight, but he was far too tired and drained for tears. After a long moment, he pulled away and drew in a deep breath, releasing it with a shaky sigh as he met Dick's gaze.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to take the Redbird back… give myself a while alone before I have Alfred on me the rest of the night?"

Dick gave him a weak smiled and nodded softly, giving his shoulder one last squeeze.

"Sure thing kiddo… go right ahead, I'll be waiting for you 'kay?"

Tim could only manage a small nod as he turned away and made the long walk back to the car.

Nightwing left shortly after, presumably to deposit Degan in Gordon's care, before making his own way to the cave.

And although Tim felt horrible and guilty walking back to the Redbird, it was nothing compared to the pain and anguish he felt when he reached it…

He bit his lip, reaching out with a trembling hand as he removed the folded stack of bills from beneath the windshield wipers.

Jason had returned the money he had given him at the start of the day, sans what he had paid for the group's one single meal, despite how much he knew he really needed it.

Tim took the long route back to the cave that night, not wanting the others to see him in the state he left in.

By the time he returned to the Manor it had begun to snow.

This only made his hurt worse.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Again, sorry for the wait!

This was one massive chapter, and it took ages to write and edit.

You won't have anywhere near the wait for the next two installments as I already have them mapped out.

And no worries! I'm not done with these two.

We all know how sensitive Jason can be.


	7. Frigid

As Dick had promised, Bruce never heard a word about Jason, or about the outside involvement in the case.

Degan was in police custody, and Gordon was confident that they had enough tangible evidence to prosecute him, so all that was left was to wait. Lighthall was proving difficult to find, but rarely did everything fall into place at once, so Tim was hardly worried.

But this did not help Tim sleep at night… not at all.

Since the explosion and arrest three nights ago, he had not been sleeping well at all, lucky to catch an hour here or there when he finally managed to nod off. The guilt was unbearable. He could still so easily see the look of betrayal on Jason's face as he had backed away from him looking very much like a kicked stray puppy… could still feel Jason's body pressed against him, lips on his own, and how his heart had hammered in his chest.

The snow made matters worse, having not let up since it began, coating Gotham inch by inch as the days progressed.

He hoped that despite having let him go hard that Jason was still wearing the heated jacket, that he was managing to stay warm and find safety in a nice warm bed, even if not his own… as much as Tim hated to think about that, now more than ever before.

Despite knowing how wrong it was, that he was only making things all the worse on an emotional level for the both of them, he still left Jason food each and every night. He had been afraid that Jason would refuse to touch it, just to spite him, but evidently the hot meals were a temptation that could not be passed up, for they were gone whenever he checked the very next day.

It was a small comfort, knowing that at the very least he was still eating.

But he still could not shake the twisting of his stomach the deep painful ache in his chest, whenever he thought of the money. Money that Jason so desperately needed, tucked beneath the wipers, and discarded with such ease with his hurt.

He could not bring himself to actually _look_ in on Jason.

It would hurt too much.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He had lasted the better part of the week before he had caved.

The weather was beastly, wind whipping around at speeds that made balance difficult when swinging or leaping across rooftops, and snow that was falling so thick he could barely see three feet in front of him.

Patrol was a nightmare. Bruce was raging, ever the alert, and the criminals were taking full advantage of the poor weather.

So much so that Bruce had them split up to cover more ground.

While he had not intended to do so, he ended up flittering past Jason's street far earlier in the night than he normally would have, and not yet with his package of food. And even though he knew that he shouldn't, that he had been so very careful and determined beforehand for so long, he could not help himself.

He HAD to see with his own eyes just how Jason was handling the extreme turn of the weather.

In ways he wished he had not... in others he was so incredibly relieved he had.

He sat draped against the stone gargoyle atop one building, hidden within the shadows, a pair of high-powered binoculars in hand as he searched the street below.

It pained him to see Jason and the girls huddled close together, the teen undoubtedly sharing the heat that the jacket was putting off with the girls shaking to the core pressed against his sides. It hurt even more to see that they were standing in quite a few inches of snow with their sexy heeled boots while Jason couldn't be the slightest bit dry or warm wearing his beat up canvas high-tops.

And Jason was all he could think about as he finished the rest of the night's patrol, the ache in his chest growing as the night went on.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He had been careless.

Beyond careless, distracted, and now he was paying for it, sporting two cracked ribs as he panted, running across the rooftops.

After reporting his injury, Bruce had demanded he take the rest of the night off… and while he would have loved to take advantage of the situation, toss back a few Tylenol, and curl into a ball within his bed with an icepack, he could not bring himself to do so.

Not yet.

Because although entirely compromised and warped, he had his priorities, and was needed elsewhere, no matter how much of a heartless dick he had been as of late.

Changing from Robin to civilian gear in the middle of a snow storm, with crack ribs was near torture, but he managed it all the same, dropping onto the streets below.

It was only in the shadier parts of Gotham that stores were still open at 3am.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was admittedly far warmer beneath his cape than it was in jeans and a hoodie, and Tim clung to the edges tightly as he purposely stomped a clear path through the snow across the rooftop.

Steam rose from the bag perched upon the box, a large, filling, hearty meal within, and he cast it one last content glance as he made his way towards the fire escape.

It did not take much, not at all. A few loud clattering jumps on the old steel had the alleyway echoing with his presence, and he had not needed to wait long before the crunching of snow followed, and Jason Rounded the side of the building eyes scoring the area for any sign of him.

But Tim knew it was all still for the best, and kept out of sight, silently watching the teen closely.

He watched as the disappointment skirted across Jason's face.

Watched as his shoulders sagged, smoke escaped his lips, and he shivered beneath the leather.

Watched as the disappointment turned to anger and a scowl slid across the teen's face…

And then he moved, kicking at the snowy ledge as he went, fleeing onto the edge of a neighboring building as the snow crumbled and fell to the ground below, and Jason stared as it hit the covered pavement in clumps.

He held his breath as Jason pulled himself up over the side of the roof… shuffled down his path… stood in front of the steaming bag.

And he watched, painfully, as Jason bypassed the food and went straight for the box beneath…

His throat clenched insanely tight at the expression that washed over Jason face as he lifted the lid… but he didn't regret it, not at all when Jason leaned against the building and promptly swapped out his ragged old shoes for the nice warm socks and brand new boots that he had left him.

Tim knew it was wrong, that it was not helping things in the slightest, but when Jason grabbed his food, and flew down the fire escape to sit at the heating vent and eat, he watched him leave… and when the teen was no longer in sight, he pattered back down onto the path he had made earlier.

He returned home, ribs and heart aching, with the flick of his cape and ratty old shoes in hand…


	8. Beautiful Disaster - Part ONE

It had been ten days since Degan's arrest.

Ten days since he had betrayed Jason's trust and had abandoned him.

For the most part anyway…

He had continued leaving meals for Jason, had left him the nice pair of waterproof boots, and all gifts were still being accepted without complaint. It was only a small comfort however. Tim was tired, oh so _very_ tired, still unable to sleep with his guilt and worries eating away at him.

Every time he shut his eyes he could still see the hurt expression on Jason's face, the one that asked '_why_?', that said '_I trusted you_'… and pled '_please don't leave me_'…

But it was for the best. Dick _knew_. He had been doing vigilante work for years. He had seen it all. If all that their_- their friendship_ would bring was heartbreak… it was better to end things sooner rather than later.

…Right?

He had to keep telling himself that.

Otherwise it would only hurt more.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Patrol had been easy the past several nights, much to Tim's displeasure. With less chaos happening within the city he was forced to think.

And Tim did not want to think, because thinking brought back memories, and memories felt like outright assaults on his person as of late. Memories of watching Dick, memories of his parents, regardless of how _little_ they had actually been in his life, memories of becoming Robin, of when he first came to start watching Jason… of the adrenalin filled _kiss_ from the other night that he had not been expecting… nor stopped...

He shook the thoughts from his mind, and pressed his forehead against the chilled marble of the gargoyle he was leaning upon, willing the oncoming headache to cease.

The weather as of late had been beastly as well. The snow rarely let up for more than a few short hours, and it surely was not melting during that time. The streets were constantly being plowed and the sidewalks salted, making Gotham seem gloomy all around, and him have to constantly have to wipe his lenses.

With a sigh, he dropped off the ledge of the building shooting a line out to swing down the block, ending with his feet on the ground before one of the many vendors.

They did not spare him odd glances anymore, treating him like any other paying customer. They were used to the strangeness of a 'mask' seeking sustenance. He was not sure if that amused him, or unnerved him at this point, but he only went to vendors and restaurants he knew were trustworthy when he was in costume.

He paid for his meals and secured them tightly before bolting down the street into the nearest alleyway.

He was back on the rooftops in a flash.

It did not take long to end up at their drop spot. He sighed as he touched down upon the rooftop, kicking a trail in the snow as he made his way towards the ledge, stopping just in front of it. He tied the plastic bag tight, and brushed away the remainder of the snow before depositing the bagged meal against the ledge.

He bounced on the fire escape as he left, sure to make a short lived ruckus, and dashed off across the rooftops.

He wished he could still sit down and share a meal with the older teen every now and again… just like they had used to. It had been nice to actually sit and have a conversation at dinner time with someone other than Alfred, on odd occasions Dick when in town, or in the rare case that Bruce was not busy in the cave for the night.

He ate his chili dog wrapped tightly within his cape under an overhang, safely hidden from the wind and snow, all the while missing the teen who had liked them so.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The night had felt horribly long. It had stayed uneventful throughout it, so much so that he had even met back up with Bruce for a few hours just to have some sort of company, even if much of the time was spent in silence.

When the hours had finally rolled past, he took the scenic route back to the manor, chancing a fly-by past Jason's street. It was nearing 4am, and he could not stop the frown that spread across his face when he realized the food was still there.

Evidently it was a _late_ night for Jason…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tim arrived at the manor early the next morning, pleased to discover that Dick had rolled in a half hour before him. They ate breakfast together with Alfred while Bruce slept in, the man finally getting some much needed rest, likely after a lecture from the old butler. His schedule was wide open, as was the other man's so they blew half the day away mindlessly chatting as they watched one movie after another.

Dick was never lacking with the hugs and affection either.

All in all, it was a _good_ day, something Tim had most definitely needed.

Dick did not go on patrol however when the time came. Instead he left for Babs' to spend the evening with her, leaving Tim to yet another solo patrol while Batman made his own rounds elsewhere.

At least things were a touch more lively to start with, not that it was really a _good_ thing. The snow had let up just shortly before they had left the cave, and by the time he had made it through the first hour he had thwarted a carjacking, saved a man from having an old neon sign crush him after a particularly strong gust of wind had dislodged it from the building face, and had disarmed a mugger before his potential victim had even noticed his approach.

It was only after the second hour came and went that he finally had a moment of peace to tend to other important things. He popped in on a pizza parlor and grabbed nearly half of an extra-large pizza's worth of slices split between two containers before heading for their- _the_ rooftop…

He touched down atop the building with ease, kicking through snow less deep than the previous night … and then froze.

The bag he had left the night before remained in place, untouched throughout the night and day following, something that had never happened since he had started leaving food for the teen.

Tim clenched his jaw as he approached the plastic bag, plucking it from the ground with a scowl, rustling it to be sure its contents were still there and completely intact. He let out a frustrated sigh and let his shoulders slump in defeat.

He could only hope that wherever Jason had spent the night had at least fed him as well…

His chest tightened as he deposited the fresh food in its place and he turned to leave.

He stopped several streets over in his boredom and sour mood to feed some stray cats in the alley the day old food, seeing no need to waste it if it could be needed elsewhere.

The rest of the night dragged on slowly, leaving Tim with nothing but his thoughts once more.

Dick was back in the cave when he returned back to the manor. The man shot him a curious, worried look as he passed him by without a second glance, heading for the stairs.

He stayed the night in his room within the manor, forgoing heading home altogether, too cold, too tired, and too depressed to make the trip.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The following day he awoke to Dick sitting at the foot of his bed, a cup of coffee for him ready in hand, and a grin plastered across his face.

Whether or not Dick's actions throughout the day were based upon his solemn mood the night before or not were a mystery, but he wasn't about to complain about having company for another day, not when patrol later that night would be near unbearable if it followed the same slow pattern the past few nights had.

Dick was overly clingy, more so than usual, and somehow Tim just _knew_ that he was aware of just how roughly he was adjusting. Much to Tim's relief he never brought it up though, just offered smiles, entertainment, and a shoulder to sleep on when he dozed off mid-day.

Dick was kind enough to let him sleep soundly tucked against his side until a half hour before patrol. Tonight he decided to join them for their run-through of the city, and Tim spent the first half of the night with both him _and_ Bruce before the three of them all split off to go their separate ways.

Shortly after, the snow falling from the sky went from being little more than a light dusting, to a full on thick sheet. He trudged on for an hour, wrapping up what little chaos had continued after the storm set in, before he swung off course and spending some time in an empty burger joint, eating a quick hot meal.

As per usual, he left with a bag to go, and went to hit his last stop before his trip back to the cave for the night.

Upon arrival, his stomach dropped...

Yet again, the previous night's food was still there, this time a lone rat poking out of the bag. He stood frozen before it, panic welling up in his chest as he chewed at a lip, before finally bringing himself to approach it.

With a shaky sigh he shooed the creature away, replaced the old with new, and left the area, depositing the half eaten food into the trash as he went.

The snow was thick and wet as he made his way back to the manor, mind racing.

If the food remained there yet again in the morning, something would have to change.

Then something would be wrong…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He left the manor early that morning and returned home in the Redbird. He showered, packed a duffle bag full of clothes, and tossed it into the back seat of the car before tinkering with the license plates again just in case.

The trip out to Jason's street was harsh on his mind. Two nights of no-shows in a row on top of very little sleep had his nerves shot and the dread welling up in his chest. He did not want to make assumptions, to think the worst, but the entire drive he could only think about the likeliness of the food he left several hours earlier still being there.

And Tim hated to be right as he stood before the bag in broad daylight, cape wrapped tightly about his shoulders. He took in a deep shaky breath as he retrieved it, clenching the bag in his fist as he bolted.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

He tossed the bag aside as leapt back into the Redbird, shifting both the car and himself back to civilian mode. He tidied his clothes, bundling himself up tastefully, and brushed his hair back. It was getting long, harder to achieve the look he was going for, but at the moment he could care less. He pulled sunglasses from the visor, slipped them on in place of his domino, and sped off down the street.

It was a bit of luck, but no comfort, to see Veronica propped up against the building, arms wrapped tightly across her front as her coat offered little more than flashy looks and a touch of a wind shield despite the freezing cold that had been blanketing Gotham.

He watched her reaction as he rolled up, recognition sparking in her eyes, curiosity… but no sympathy, no fear, and it helped to de-tense his muscles.

He drew in a deep breath as he rolled down the window beckoning her with a slight wave. A small smile spread across her face as she stepped forward, making her way to the curb, her body a never ending tremble.

"How ya doing handsome? Been a while since you passed through here if I'm not mistaken?'

He returned her smile, leaning against the door.

"I'm well, thank you. And yourself?"

She rolled her eyes, a soft chuckle breaking free from her lips as she cocked a hip.

"Managing, best I can with this weather. Gotham bites Hun." She sighed, rubbing at her arms through the fabric. "Can I help you with somethin'?"

"As a matter of fact, you can. Do you know how Jay-Jay's been, and if he's around?"

The blonde's face fell abruptly, and she shook her head sadly.

"Last I saw him he was a bit down in the dumps but otherwise alright. Ain't seen him in a few days though, probably playing it safe and staying indoors until the storm passes. He doesn't like the cold much. Pity… he'd have probably loved to see you roll on up."

Tim sighed, shoulders slumping disappointment, as well as relief.

"Well, thank you anyway. It's good to hear that he's been well at the very least."

"Been back out of town?"

Tim blinked, somewhat confused before remembering his choice of plates, before nodding.

"Yeah, I have been gone well over a week now I believe."

She smiled warmly, and leaned forward against the door, tilting her head at him.

"Would you be interested in some company all the same handsome?" She purred pressing her chest against the base of the window.

He could only smile sweetly and shake his head.

"Sorry, but I really did only come for Jay…" He sighed, reaching beside him. "Regardless though, have a good night. Take a break, go someplace warm, and eat some dinner. Anything to get out of this weather. You're shaking in your boots." And with that, he tucked a bill into her hand, watching as her eyes grew wide.

"Well… gosh, thanks! If I see em', I'll let him know you were lookin' for him." She grinned, backing away from the vehicle.

Tim grinned, running a hand through his hair, smoothing it back once more.

"Thank you very much! Good bye Miss!"

And with that he waved her goodbye, feeling a touch more at ease as he headed back home to get a few more hours of sleep in if at all possible.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tim only managed to squeeze in a single extra hour of sleep in the end. The snow had died down to just a dust by the time he had awoken, and when it came time to head to the manor it had stopped altogether. He was hopeful that the sky would stay clear for a while, make patrol all the more easy, a touch livelier, and perhaps with the absence of snow Jason would finally resurface even with the ground coverage.

When he arrived at the manor, Bruce was still asleep, and Dick had gone out with Barbara to see a movie, with plans to be back before patrol. So, with the absence of everyone other than Alfred, he simply went down to the cave, trained for a short while, before he ended up in the kitchen with the man helping him bake a large batch of cookies for later.

Bruce awoke well before Dick arrived home, and after stealing a cookie or two off the rack he had headed down to the cave himself, prepping things for patrol and suiting up.

Tim was nearly dressed, sans cape, when Dick finally rolled in and returned the borrowed car to its proper resting place within the garage.

Like the night before, they patrolled together, all three of them. Nights such as these were always nice. For Tim it was like old times, seeing Dick and Bruce move together, like a single entity, Dick shooting off the quips like no tomorrow. He always loved seeing the two together, and being right there beside them was loads better than just watching from afar.

The skies stayed clear throughout the night, and once they split up, and Tim had scoured his area handling what need be, he felt pretty content as he deposited another bag of food in the usual spot.

He held back for a while, watching the street for any sign of the older teen, but as a half hour came and went he started on his way back with a sigh, only able to hope that things were different tomorrow.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Veronica had either given him the slightest peace of mind, or he had simply finally crashed from sheer exhaustion, as he slept through much of the next day.

The household let him sleep until he awoke naturally, something he was grateful for, as it had left him well rested with his energy restored.

He showered quickly, and raided the fridge dressed in his sweats, Dick joining him after a time to pack away a bowl of cereal himself.

When he raced down to the cave an hour prematurely, suiting up at speed far from typical, Alfred expressed his concern.

"I have an errand to run… need to follow up on something from last night, and I would rather not take up patrol hours to take care of it so I'm heading out a bit early. I'll meet up with Bruce, and Dick if he's joining us again, when patrol begins unless I'm back sooner."

"Very well, I shall pass the word along Master Tim."

Alfred never pressed, and that Tim was thankful for.

The short ride there was spent with his heart hammering in his chest. When he was forced to leave the Redbird behind and take the rest of the journey on foot, he flittered across the rooftops at top speed.

He touched down upon the rooftop with practiced ease, a spray of wet slush shooting out around him as his boots hit the pavement, cape fluttering behind him.

He stood still for a long moment, eyes locked straight ahead, and his fists clenched at his side, before he moved.

Something was _wrong_.

_Very_ wrong, and he had been wasting time denying that…


	9. Beautiful Disaster - Part TWO

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_He touched down upon the rooftop with practiced ease, a spray of wet slush shooting out around him as his boots hit the pavement, cape fluttering behind him._

_He stood still for a long moment, eyes locked straight ahead, and his fists clenched at his side, before he moved._

_Something was __**wrong**__._

_**Very**__ wrong, and he had been wasting time denying that…_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He raced across the rooftop and shot off a line, latching it to the parapet of the building across, before swinging briskly across the street, daylight be damned.

The food was _still_ there. The weather had broken. The snow had stopped, the wind-chill was minimal, and the snow had even begun melting some. There was no reason for Jason to still be absent. Not unless something else was responsible for his abrupt disappearance.

He scanned the street frantically, searching for any sign of windswept raven hair and leather, and came up with nothing, no matter how many twists and turns he looked down.

He was shaking as he made it back to the Redbird and slammed its door open. He dove into the driver's seat, securing the door behind him before he pulled his knees up to his chest, and clenched at his hair.

He needed to calm down. _Think_. Act as need be.

The com-link was first to go, turned off to avoid Bruce hearing his panic attack, should he tune into his frequency when he was inevitably late for patrol.

His nerves were on edge as he pulled out the dash tray and booted up the laptop, fingers twitching as the system loaded far too slowly for his current panicked state. He had not dared touch the programs set in place since the 'mission'. He had not wanted to hear Jason, torment himself, or be far more of a creeper than he had been so very long ago when he had been watching him from afar.

Tim could only hope and pray that Jason had done as he had said he would. That he had kept the earring in even after their… argument. Otherwise he knew his chances of finding the teen were slim, and he did not have the time, nor nerve to run through the streets in civvies asking questions.

The audio program was the first thing opened once he was in, and he held his breath, pulse racing, when he was only met with silence. The sound bar on screen barely fluctuated, but the slightest of movements was _something_. He cranked the volume up to max, throwing a set of large headphones over his ears.

To his relief, the noise that barely registered on the screen faintly floated through his ears… and was _breathing_.

Faint, barely there breaths, but it was something… and that meant everything. It meant that regardless of whatever was going on he was _not_ too late.

Still, the dread did not let up, even as he brought up the tracking program and homed in on the signal's positioning.

At the very least, Jason was close. Not far from where Tim usually saw him, and that was a small comfort as he would not be speeding off on a wild goose chase.

He thrust the Redbird on auto drive, setting its arrival to just a few streets away from the blipping dot on the screen, all the while downloading the signal onto an external device and mentally preparing himself.

When the car came to a halt, he wasted no time in locking it down and vacating it, before racing down the alleyway, and launching himself up onto the nearest roof. He stared down at the red dot on screen intently as he swung down the street.

The signal led him to the rooftop of an old apartment complex, long since condemned and abandoned, not that such a thing ever meant anything in Gotham's slums. The brick parapet crumbled as he touched down, and to his dismay, the rooftop entrance had long since caved in. The fire escape looked decrepit, rusted, and unsteady as he stepped slowly onto its surface. It creaked and groaned with each step and Tim kept a tight hold on his grapple should he need it at a second's notice. It was instable in the best of places, and overall it was a hazard to safety, with many of the lower levels so rotted away that one could not make it from the ground floor on up without a decent amount of skill and no regard for one's health.

In actuality, it seemed right up Jason's alley, since he had seen him get up fire escapes and onto rooftops with utmost ease with his own two eyes several times over.

The trip down the fire escape was slow and cumbersome. Each step had to be tested before putting his entire weight down or else risk injury upon collapse. But Tim kept his sights set on the small blinking dot that grew ever closer as he moved.

Finding an entrance was far more difficult than he had expected. Most windows were long since bricked over, others sealed incredibly tight with boards too thick to break with ease, and he could not for the life of him figure out how Jason could be in the upper portion of the building with every possible entrance shut tight. He was nearly ready to start from the ground up, in case the teen really had just found a way up through the crumbling floors, when the last window he intended to check budged within his hands.

The boards appeared secure like the rest, but with some effort he managed to pop the largest free and set it aside before sliding in through the gap. He coughed as his feet touched down into the dusty hall kicking up a small cloud upon impact with the ragged carpet. The building really _was_ a mess, for lack of a better word. Holes in the floor boards, the carpet filthy and riddled with stains, the occasional singed patch sticking out as he made his way down the pathway. Trash littered the ground, and the walls were just as bad, wallpaper yellowed and peeling, plaster crumbling and breaking down in large chunks. The inside of the building looked just as hazardous as the fire escape outside from which he came. The apartments were closely spaced. Single units he supposed. Many doors were locked tight, others off their hinges, but none appeared to be occupied according to his heat sensors.

Although creaky and riddled with holes, the hall floors were far more stable than the rickety metal frame of the fire escape's stairwell, so he was relieved to be able to move through them at a faster pace, following the blip closely. His heart hammered in his chest , and he drew in deep steady breaths in effort to keep himself calm, all while keeping his noise to a minimum.

When he finally came to the door blocking the entrance to the source of the signal he froze. His breath hitched in his throat, and his jaw clenched as he prepared himself, not knowing what to expect once he stepped through the doorway.

His hand fell to the corroded brass knob, and he twisted gently, the door seemingly unlocked. But once the door cracked open just inches it halted, a chain stretched across the gap.

With a sigh he pulled the door shut and dug within his belt. He pressed his ear to the door, along with a small square from within, a heavy duty magnet, and waited for a sign that he had caught hold of the lock's head. Gradually he inched the square along, waiting for resistance, and once found he pulled it away briskly. A soft pound to the wooden door above the lock sent the slider from its entrance, and he braced himself as the chain thwacked at the wall upon its release.

There were no sounds of stirring from within, which only made the dread well up faster, and his stomach flop.

He turned the knob quickly, and pressed forward inching the door open just barely enough to slip inside, before shutting it tightly behind him.

The apartment was dark without light able to enter from the boarded up windows or a lamp to illuminate it. Tim pulled a flashlight from his belt and switched it on, blinking as it lit up the area before him. The apartment was little more than a large room, the walls in no better state than the hall's, sans the addition of several worn posters and other such trinkets. It was cluttered, and filthy, and in total disarray. Tim was sure that if he paid attention, took the time to look around, he would only become more distraught with the teen's living conditions, but there was simply no time.

In such a small dwelling, it had not taken long to find what he was looking for. A mattress that had seen much better days lay upon the floor in the far corner, and a mass of filthy threadbare blankets lay balled in the center, a tuft of unruly black hair poking from the top.

Tim swallowed the lump in his throat letting out a ragged breath as he took a step forward.

"Jason?" He murmured questioningly, watching closely for the slightest of movements and coming up with nothing.

The lack of response had him moving forward, walking to the edge of the bed. He was hit with a sour smell as he reached him, prompting a glance around, which found him staring down into a discarded take out box that had been serving as a sick bin.

His eyes fell back towards the bundled teen, barely able to make out the rise and fall of Jason's side as he drew in each breath.

"…Jason?" He asked again, crouching down beside him.

The result was the same.

No acknowledgment whatsoever.

With a frown and shaky hand, he slowly pried back the heap of comforters, and propped the flashlight up on the crate serving as a nightstand.

Tim removed is gloves, stuffing them within the band of his belt before he reached forward to assess the teen. Jason's skin was cold to the touch, even with the mass of blankets conserving body heat within the bundle he had created. He ran a hand through his bangs, brushing over his forehead, and he frowned at the eat radiating beneath his fingertips. Jason was running a high fever, for a length of time Tim had no way of knowing, and the cold combined with lack of movement was taking its toll. The teen's lips were borderlining grey, his skin pale and waxy, and Tim's chest clenched in panic.

He swallowed roughly, leaning forward, pulling Jason onto his back slowly, gently. He pressed his ear against the older boy's chest and listened to him inhale and release a ragged gurgled breath. Still throughout these motions Jason did not wake, did not respond at all, not even as Tim began to shake him in effort to force a reaction, _any_ reaction.

Tim pressed his fingers against the teen's neck, checking his pulse, only to find it weak and unsteady, making his own heart skip a beat. He chewed on his bottom lip, fisted his hands within his cape, and stared down at the pale flesh before him with unease.

There was no getting around it. This was not something he could fix, not on his own, not without help that would surely come at a price…

He brushed his thumb across Jason's cheek, and squeezed his eyes shut as he reached into his belt, and pulled out his radio.

He swapped frequencies, hands shaking, as he brought the device close. The sharp beep sounded, echoing through the small room with a crackling hiss, and he braced himself, fingers digging into his thigh.

"R-Robin to Nightwing… please come in."

He swallowed thickly, and he steadied his breath in the short wait, clutching the older teen's hand within his own.

"_Nightwing here, s'there an emergency Robin? What's the situation?_"

Tim bit his bottom lip and let out a small whine before bringing himself to respond.

"Nightwing, I need help… I know you told me to end things, and I tried, I really, _really_ did… but something came up, and Jason disappeared, and when I finally caved and couldn't take it anymore I found him. He's in bad shape, really bad shape… He's sick, non-responsive; pulse is weak and unsteady… He needs an emergency room Di- _Nightwing_. I need you here. I-I don't know what to do…"

"… _I'm on my way. I'll follow your signal- __**if**__ you turn it back on of course… keep him warm and stable until I get there. I'll think of something on the way. Nightwing out."_

With a shaky sigh Tim let the radio slip to the floor as he gently coaxed Jason back onto his side. He scooted onto the lumpy mattress alongside him and pulled the teen's head into his lap, curling his cape around them, before turning his tracers back on. He slid his hand back through Jason's bangs, carding his fingers through the wavy raven locks. He curled his arm around his shoulder and leaned in, murmuring apologies, begging him to awaken.

How had things gone so wrong? How could Jason be perfectly fine one day, then suddenly drop the next? How long had he possibly been non responsive?

He _should_ have called him. Checked in on him sooner, if nothing else…. Made sure that things were alright. He should not have made assumptions.

He should have followed his gut and ignored Dick, no matter how good the man's intentions were, no matter how truthful he had been about his own experiences.

Tim curled in on himself, wrapped around the shoulder of the older boy before him.

When Dick arrived not even ten minutes later, and found himself in the doorway to the apartment, he found the two as such. Watched Tim, a wreck, cradling Jason in his lap, and could feel his throat clench.

Regardless of right and wrong, he could not help but feel somewhat responsible for the situation. Although well out of his hands, he was sure that Tim would have noticed something amiss far sooner , taken action, perhaps even brought Jason to Leslie when the symptoms of whatever had started… avoided this whole mess… avoided this confrontation that was sure to not be pretty.

He approached the pair silently; watching the slight, ragged, rise and fall of Jason's side as he gently placed a hand on Tim's shoulder.

The Robin flinched as he turned his attention toward the man, a grief stricken look upon his face as Dick crouched down beside them, reaching into his gauntlet pouches.

He drew out a thermometer, removed it from its case, and slipped it beneath the unconscious boy's tongue. Tim watched intently as the red slowly rose, while Dick simply sighed, and surveyed his surroundings.

The apartment was _not_ only structurally unsafe. It was unsanitary. No heat, no electricity, and he was doubtful that the plumbing even functioned correctly under such circumstances.

Jason himself was a mess, now that he got the chance to really look at him close up. He could see how Tim felt the need to intervene, even if he _had_ gone about it incorrectly breaking a dozen of the Bat's rules in the process. He was undernourished, covered in bruises and scrapes, clothes old and worn. Forced to stand out in the cold most of the day, to sacrifice his pride and dignity and subject himself to such treatment on a regular basis, let alone what he could potentially be exposing himself to each and every time he put himself out there…

"…Dick?"

He turned his head back to meet the younger boy's gaze. Tim was worrying his lip once again, a finger pointed at the glass stick between the teen's lips. With a sigh he reached over, removing it from Jason's mouth, and brought it up to his eyes.

The line lay at _103.6_, and Dick hated to think how much higher the fever might have been if it wasn't so damn cold in the dwelling…

He paused, pressing forward to listen to the boy's lungs, and frowned at the wheeze and rattle.

"I- will he be... he really needs to be admitted D-_Nightwing_…right?" Tim shifted beside him, lenses now down.

The two shared a long look before Dick ultimately nodded and sucked in a deep breath.

"Yeah… I anticipated that, since you actually got me running down here. Already called B, just before I stepped in." He admitted with a heavy sigh. "I recommend telling him nothing but the truth at this point kiddo, because from here on out he's the one in charge and you've got a lot of explaining to do in a short amount of time." He frowned, shooting Tim a sympathetic look.

Almost as though he had expected it, and maybe he really had, Tim slumped and gave a weak nod as he continued carding a hand through Jason's mussed hair.

"I admittedly didn't think he was _this_ bad… or that he was living in such- well… conditions?" Dick murmured, pressing his fingers against Jason's flesh in effort to monitor his pulse.

Tim drew in a shaky breath, jaw clenched, eyes stressed.

"Neither did I… I respected his privacy. Obviously I had assumptions given the circumstances, but…" the teen bit his lip, face twisting into a grimace, and Dick suspected that if he continued he would inevitably end up drawing blood... "I wish I had pried, followed him even…"

Dick winced and placed a comforting hand on Tim's knee.

"I know Tim, I know. You can't blame yourself though. You did so much. You tried. Did things even though you _knew_ that you shouldn't, given the special circumstances."

"And then I left him." Tim spat, twisting his fist within one of the blankets.

Dick squeezed his knee, forcing Tim to meet his gaze.

"This is _not_ your fault Robin." He insisted, believed, if his face said anything.

Tim snorted and shook his head.

"Isn't it? Had I still been keeping a close eye on him I would have _known_ he was sick, been able to do something about it days ago. If I hadn't shown up today, just let things go entirely, he could have- _would_ have… and even now he's-"

"Stop. Just stop Robin." Dick sighed, pressing up against Tim's back. "This is NOT your fault. You couldn't have-"

"Nightwing. Robin." A sharp, deep voice barked, interrupting the man.

Both stiffened, heads snapping up towards the doorway.

Batman stepped into the room, cape rustling behind him as he approached his boys. A scowl was already in place as he stepped wordlessly into the light and crouched down beside them.

"How long has he been like this?"

Tim stared at the floor, fingers clenched around a bit of Jason's shirt as he sucked in a sharp breath.

"I-I don't know…" He murmured truthfully, squeezing his eyes shut. "He disappeared a few days ago."

Eyes narrowed behind the white lenses of the cowl, and the pair before him swallowed nervously.

"Hnn…"

And with a sigh, the Bat returned to his feet flicking his cape backwards and bent over, hoisting Jason up into his arms without so much as a grunt.

"What are you-" Tim startled and shot to his feet, Nightwing's sudden grip on his arm the only thing holding him back as the Bat turned towards the entrance.

"Go back to the cave. Change. Meet me at Gotham General. Immediately."

"I-"

"Tim." Dick gave him a reassuring look and shook his head at the teen. "Don't…"

Tim reluctantly backed down as they followed the man out the door.

The walk through the cluttered halls back towards the makeshift entrance was spent in silence, Batman at the lead with Nightwing close behind and Robin tailing a distance back.

Dick helped balance Jason as the Bat slipped through the boarded window and settled himself on the creaking steel frame outside. Once through he took charge once more, gently hoisting the teen back into his arms, shifting him over his shoulder, before ultimately leaping from the platform altogether and landing mere feet from the Batmobile.

Dick slipped through the opening as well, and with one smooth motion, he flipped up over the railing to join the man below. Tim watched as Jason was slid into the rear of the car and secured before he too joined them on the ground. He stood by idly, mostly hidden behind Dick's form as the man slid into the driver's seat and sealed the cockpit.

The Batman did not address his boy's further.

Instead he simply sped off, hands at the control panel as he tuned in to the cave's frequency, scowl still firmly planted in place.

"Alfred."

"_Yes Sir?"_

"Meet me at crevice off of Robinson and Montage with a civilian vehicle and a change of clothes. Emergency situation. Robin and Nightwing are headed back to the cave."

"_Will I be accompanying you in this time of emergency?_"

The man paused briefly, seemingly mulling it over.

"Yes, that would probably be wise. I'll send the _car_ back on auto."

"_Very well Sir_."


	10. Beautiful Disaster - Part THREE

After watching the car speed off into the distance, Tim and Dick raced back to the location of Tim's Redbird.

The brisk ride back to the cave was spent in silence, Dick in the driver's seat for a change, Tim too distraught to be behind the wheel as he sat curled in upon himself.

Returning to the cave with no Alfred to welcome them upon arrival only made things all the more real.

The two showered as quickly as possible and changed into proper civilian attire before heading off to the garage. The Batmobile had arrived un-manned sometime between their arrival and them tidying up, and they shared a grim look as the flung themselves into one of Bruce's many cars.

Tim sat curled in the seat next to Dick, knees pulled up to his chest, and face buried within them the entirety of the nerve wracking ride to the hospital.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Alfred brought the car to a stop directly in front of the emergency doors, and Bruce was out his door in the blink of an eye, pulling Jason's limp form from the back seat with equal speed, and rushing him through the double doors.

The emergency staff was on him at once, lifting Jason from his arms and onto a stretcher as Bruce followed close behind, filling out forms with what little information he could.

They began working on the teen almost immediately, checking his vitals over as Bruce stood by idly.

It was several minutes of chaos before he was approached properly, a young nurse with a concerned look upon her face.

"I hate to bother you Mr. Wayne, but I am afraid that you have left a good portion of the paperwork blank?" She stated nervously, holding the papers out before her.

And Bruce sighed, shaking his head.

"Unfortunately, that _is_ a problem. You see, I haven't really got the answers that you are seeking. I know very little about this boy. He is an acquaintance of Tim, an… unofficial son of mine, perhaps you've seen him with me on television?" He prompted, tilting is head.

"I'm afraid not, Sir…"She admitted awkwardly, with a blush.

"No matter… anyway, he and my son Richard are on their way as we speak. I'm sure that they will be able to shed some more light on the present situation, and fill in some, if not all of those blanks."

"But Mr. Wayne there is a matter of-"

"I will pay the bill; I assure you that it will not be an issue. So please, just concentrate on getting the boy in stable condition, and when he is ready to be moved, please place him in a private room. I wouldn't want him waking up with strangers, nor anyone to walk in and pester him simply because it was I who brought him here."

"Very well. In light of your… notability, that should not be an issue. I do not foresee you skipping out on the bill, nor causing problems for this hospital, or yourself, so rest easy Mr. Wayne. We will do what need be done."

At this the man managed a weary smile.

"That's all I ask."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It had not taken long for Jason to be settled within his own room, hooked up to various drips and monitors, the doctor fussing over him as Alfred and Bruce sat outside the room, waiting for the boys to arrive.

When Dick and Tim did finally come walking up the hall, Bruce breathed a sigh of relief and summoned the nurse from earlier. Something Tim had not quite yet been prepared for as he was bombarded with questions, questions he was not too keen on answering in front of Bruce _before_ having had a chance to speak with him privately.

He could feel the eyes boring into the back of his head as he filled in the gaps of the paperwork, and explained Jason's situation as vaguely as he could while still letting what was necessary be known.

He avoided both Dick and Bruce's gaze as the nurse finished with him and made the move to return to the doctor. He swallowed the lump in his throat shakily as Bruce pulled the woman aside as she passed, and despite his nerves and reluctance, he followed the brief conversation by merely reading their lips.

Dick on the other hand was close enough to hear for himself, and could not help but feel worse about the whole situation as the man asked her to be sure to check for any substance abuse and STDs, on top of the already obvious ailments.

Tim only looked mortified, hanging his head in shame, his fists clenched at his sides.

Dick watched with a lump in his throat as Bruce stepped away from the departing nurse and approached Tim, an unreadable look planted across his face.

Tim barely managed to look up in time to see the man before him, and the look upon the boy's face tugged at Dick's heartstrings.

"Tim… we must talk. Please step into the restroom with me where we may talk privately..."

It took everything in Dick's power to not follow after them as Tim trailed behind the man and reluctantly followed him into the john.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Bruce was silent as they stepped into the stall filled room and the door swung shut behind them.

Tim stood by idly as Bruce scanned the compartments, checking for any signs of life, and he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or ill when they had to play at mindless actions until the lone man using a stall vacated the premises.

Bruce locked the door behind the man shortly after his leave, and Tim did all he could to prepare himself as he leaned back against the sinks, waiting for the man to round himself.

It happened as abruptly as he had expected.

"Tim, what were you thinking?"

The sharp words echoed through the room and Tim was unable to suppress the flinch that resulted from the barking voice.

"I-…"

"You _weren't_ thinking, that's what." Bruce sighed, rubbing at the vein protruding at his temple. "How do you know this boy?"

Tim swallowed roughly and gripped at the sink beneath his fingers as he reluctantly met the man's gaze.

"I- I just… do?"

"_Tim_."

"It's not really something I can explain! It just sort of…happened." He murmured, head hanging towards the floor once more.

"How much interaction have you two had?"

"Just…" Tim drew in a deep breath, released shakily. "Mostly, I've just been leaving him food. Sometimes clothes. Sometimes I stuck around and ate with him. I… I gave him a jacket so he wouldn't freeze. Heated…"

"Heated? As in, the lining Lucius developed for us six months ago?"

He winced, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Yessir."

"And you just _gave_ away that technology. Technology only recently released, technology currently only traceable to Wayne Enterprises at this time."

"I… _yes_." And Tim had honestly not thought about that at the time…

"Furthermore, given the similarities with the boy's situation, am I correct in my assumption that this _Jason_ is the 'working girl' that presented you with the recent Degan case?"

All he could manage was a quick, short nod.

"Tim… how involved in this case _was_ he?"

"He- he talked to some of the other girls…"

"Is that all?"

"Yes…. _No_. I'm sorry, I just…"

"Tim…"

"He was there… the night Dick brought Degan in. He went in on his own and when I went to pull him out _everything_ was there. _He_ was there, and then everything just kind blew up in our faces. Literally."

"You involved a civilian in a case." Bruce stated bluntly.

"Yessir…"

"You could have gotten one of you, if not both of you, seriously injured or god forbid killed!"

"Bruce, I'm-"

"Sorry cannot erase what has already been done Tim. How much does this boy know exactly? What have you told him?"

Tim blanched.

"I-I haven't told him anything, honest! I've never been anything but Robin to him. We don't even talk about anything 'us' related… just… stuff."

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't take your word for that Tim. You willingly put us all in very grave danger, and lied about it. Repeatedly. For god only knows how long."

Tim could only nod and hunch in on himself.

"Let's go."

With a scowl, Bruce crossed the expanse of restroom and unlatched the lock, wrenching the door open in one smooth movement. He stepped through the doorway and held the swinging door ajar for Tim to follow behind.

The teen did so hesitantly refusing to meet Dick's gaze as they reapproached the man.

Bruce stood before Dick, a stern expression planted firmly on his face as he crossed his arms.

"You and Tim are taking my place tonight. Head out."

"But, but we haven't even heard back-" Tim protested at once, only for Bruce to raise a hand to silence him.

"Tim is _not_ to leave your sight. I will be here keeping an eye on things as I am now currently responsible for the boy and cannot possibly go out myself."

Tim bit his lip clenching at his shirt hem.

"Sure thing Bruce… leave the city to us nothing we can't handle for one night." Dick managed a weak smile as he clasped a hand around Tim's shoulder in what was likely intended to be a comforting manner. "Come on Tim. Sooner we go, the sooner it'll seem like we're back, 'kay?"

"…sure." The teen murmured, reluctantly following Dick, looking back warily as he went.

With a sigh, Bruce returned to sit with Alfred, slumped back against the far from comfortable hall chair.

"This too shall pass Master Bruce. Whatever may come from this we will undoubtedly make it through."

As the doctors passed by, entering the room to retrieve Jason to cart him off for chest x-rays, Bruce was not so sure…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was well over an hour before anything changed, the time spent in silence, Bruce on edge, brow creased with worry, and Alfred at his side calm as ever.

The doctors returned Jason to his room half way through the wait, but left immediately after the drop-off, only the nurse lingering behind to set the boy back up.

Bruce waited patiently for her retreat, not wanting to disturb her work, and stopped her once the door was shut behind her.

"Miss, have you received the results of the x-rays?"

The woman paused and turned her head back towards him.

"I am not permitted to release the boy's information at this time Mr. Wayne. I'm sure you understand-"

"He does not have next of kin for you to report to. I am the best that you are going to get in this situation. So please Miss, let me know what we are dealing with here." Bruce interrupted, half pleading, half demanding.

The nurse sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose as she dealt with an internal argument, before slumping her shoulders in silent defeat.

"Mr. Todd has pneumonia. Left untreated, and living in less than habitable conditions, it has advanced and the infection spread from the left lung to the right as well. What started off as a common cold rapidly morphed into something far more extreme. Being underweight was no help either. We initially x-rayed to see how badly the infection had advanced, but after the initial views we moved him to a CT scan when the film revealed internal injuries that we had not been made aware of."

"Injuries?" He asked. "Recent?"

"Some more so than others Mr. Wayne. Most have a good deal of remodeling, others are only weeks old, with the most recent being a minor distal radius fracture. Several ribs fractures, none all too recent. Fingers broken in multiple places at different periods of time. Pelvic fracture few years old. Clavicle, left side, 2 different locations, different times. Mandible. Nose looks to have been broken some point along the line as well, perhaps more than once. Charts catalogue the full extent of his prior injuries, but I'm sure you get the idea Mr. Wayne. These findings suggest a long history of abuse."

"And the other tests?" Bruce prompted.

"They are still processing sir. His fever is down, and he has been started on antibiotics. We will be draining some fluid from his lungs shortly. He'll be started on an I.V. afterwards to keep him hydrated. At this point sir, all you can do is wait for him to come out of it I'm afraid. He will need to spend some time here to recover while being monitored."

"Thank you Ms."

"You are welcome Mr. Wayne…" And with that she made her way down the hall.

Alfred sighed, and stood at his side, a had clasped on is shoulder.

"What _do_ you plan to do Master Bruce?"

The man sucked in a sharp breath, hand upon the door knob as he turned towards him.

"At this point Alfred, I don't know… I really don't know."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Patrol was a nightmare.

Focus was impossible, and Tim's nerves had him fumbling constantly, and his stomach flipping at each sharp movement.

Dick could not bring himself to scold the boy.

"Don't worry Robin, he's in good hands now. B might be pissy, but the guy's in good hands with him there."

Tim sighed, leaning back against the cool brick of the building.

"I know…but that doesn't make me feel any better, any less worried, less stressed… and B-"

Dick winced, and managed a week smile for the young Robin.

"I know… man do I know…but, he'll forgive you. He always did me."

"And that last time?" Tim snorted, purposely avoiding Nightwing's lensed gaze.

"That- well, that was _different_…"

"So is this…"

And Dick could find no argument for that.

The rest of patrol was spent in silence…

When the boys did eventually return back to the cave, Alfred was there to meet them, confirming their suspicions that they would not be returning to the hospital until long after the sun had risen.

"Master Bruce sent me home to tend to you boys. He is staying overnight to keep an eye on things. They are in good hands, the hospital is secure, and Master Bruce will do everything in his power to keep the boy stable."

"But-!" Tim's protests fell on deaf ears as Alfred stared him down.

"No 'buts' Master Tim. I am under strict orders to keep you in until tomorrow. Now, wash up, and eat something before bed. You as well Master Dick."

Tim was solemn as he stripped free of his suit and entered the showers. Dick could not comfort him when they finally made their way upstairs.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Bruce sat stationary in the chair across from the hospital bed, scowling at the paperwork in hand as he read through the charts and reports.

They were…depressing, to say the least. They told a long, painful, story of neglect and abuse. He had known it would be bad, but he hadn't expected it to be well beyond his expectations… not at all.

It was not long after Bruce had finally set the papers down that a groan sounded from across from him, and he looked up to see Jason, face screwed up in discomfort, before the bedridden teen erupted into a fit of hacking.

He sat frozen, watching, ready to jump in if needed as the boy wheezed and his eyes fluttered open.

He was dazed for a brief moment, eyes glassy as they scanned the pristine white ceiling, all until he realized there was a mask upon his face and everything changed.

The teen stiffened, realization developing in his eyes, and he shifted taking in his surroundings. It was a downward spiral from there… Jason wrenched his arm up, clawing the mask from his face, and his gaze settled on his wrist, the tube and tape, and all at once he was flailing.

Bruce was launching himself at the boy in an instant, preventing him from ripping the I.V. from his arm, something which only seemed to make him more distressed, his heart rate skyrocketing mere seconds before the screams began.

"Get the hell off me! G-get away, let go!" The teen screeched as Bruce held his arms in an iron grip and attempted to get him to calm, with no avail.

Unsurprisingly, the nurse was not far behind, and she came skidding in through the door with a panic stricken face and stormed towards them. Once Jason's eyes landed on her he stilled briefly, but never did de-tense nor stop in his efforts to pull away.

"What in God's name is going on in here!?" She demanded, out of breath, with her hands firmly planted upon her hips.

"Jason woke up disorientated and tried to rip his drip out. He's not familiar with me, just the boys, so he over reacted to my intrusion. I apologize for the misunderstanding, but in his state I thought it unwise to remover the I.V. in such a manner." He murmured apologetically, and slowly released his grip, backing away cautiously.

Jason stopped his thrashing, but stayed stiff and on edge as the nurse approached him in his leave and began to thoroughly check him over. Bruce returned to his seat with a weary sigh, noting that the teen never once pulled his eyes off his form, not even as the nurse checked his pupils.

It was a hard feat to stay seated when another coughing fit arose, wracking the boy's body so hard that he swerved, and collapsed against the sturdy woman wheezing whilst she attempted to slip him back into bed. The fight left him quickly, and the wheezing only got worse as he slumped back against the pillows in defeat.

Bruce watched as she sat on the edge of the bed beside him, a hand clasped atop his, and explained what had occurred, lacking important details they had kept from the staff for obvious reasons.

"Mr. Todd… _Jason_? You are in Gotham General Hospital. You are very ill, pneumonia, among other things, and you were brought in by Mr. Wayne after his boys found you unconscious and unresponsive…"

Bruce was unsure that the teen believed much that was said after that, as Jason eyed him silently, never breaking his gaze from there on out until the nurse finally left the two in peace again to run her rounds.

It did not take long for the interrogation to begin afterwards.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jason spat, eyes wary as he inhaled deeply, before prying the mask away again in agitation.

The man stared at him curiously, before sighing, and rubbing at a temple.

"Tim found you. Called my son who in turn called me. The lot of us took time out of our _schedule_ to get you to a hospital where you could be treated. Had he not found you, you likely would not have made it much longer. Such hostility and language is not appreciated, Jason."

The teen only glared at him, lip curling upward as he sneered.

"Hate to break it to you, but I don't know any _Tim_, so try again old man, and this time make it believable or else I'll buzz that nurse back and have her remove your creeper ass!" He snarled.

Bruce eyed him carefully, judging his sincerity, before ultimately giving a small sigh of relief.

"Then at the very least he truly was _discreet_…" he murmured mostly to himself, watching Jason's eyes narrow further.

Bruce turned his gaze towards the door, weighing the pros and cons of locking it, before ultimately deciding that Jason would like judge that as a threatening action and cause a scene.

"I'm afraid that I've made some… _assumptions_ about the situation." He sighed, leaning back within his chair.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The teen huffed, gripping the sheets, making a point of having his hand mere inches from the buzzer he had threatened to use if need be.

Bruce gave another heavy, frustrated sigh, and seeing no other way around things given the situation at hand…

"Tim- _Robin_, is responsible for you being here tonight Jason. Despite what involving me revealed about his recent lies, he is the reason you are here, alive, and being treated instead of suffering out a less than pleasant end in some cold condemned building. You should thank him when you get the chance."

Bruce had not expected more than he received, and he waited patiently as Jason seemed only capable of gaping at him for a long drawn out moment, realization dawning on his face.

"Wait… _Robin_? But then- but that makes…." The teen stumbled on his words, face returning to the pale pallor it had been when he had first been admitted. "But… you're _Wayne_! Bruce fucking Wayne!" he squawked, inhaling awkwardly as his lungs protested.

"That I am. And I don't think I even need to bother warning you of the consequences to be had if word of this gets around lad. I am not threatening, just simply stating a fact."

"This- this is…_shit_…"

Bruce couldn't be sure if Jason was in awe, terrified, or just plain confused, perhaps all of the above, but he could worry about that at a later time.

"Language Jason…"

The boy only glared across at him, eyes wary, and body stiff as silence washed over them and Bruce merely watched.

After several long minutes, spent entirely in silence, Jason hesitantly shifted, curling beneath the blankets with the occasional cough, and slipped the oxygen mask back over his face.

Bruce stood, eyes never leaving the teen's form, and tentatively cleared his throat.

Jason barely stirred, but he knew he had his attention.

"I have to return home…things to do, people to see. I'm sure you understand. I will send the boys to keep an eye on you for now. You might find their company more… welcoming?"

Jason only snorted as the man turned on his heel and walked out the door.

It was only after Bruce had been gone several minutes that he finally closed his eyes, and willed himself to sleep despite the pressure in his lungs and the ache within his muscles.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Bruce had called Alfred not so very long ago, something Tim had desperately been waiting on since his forced departure, despite the dread that welled up in his chest at the thought of being in the man's presence again at the moment.

Bruce had asked Alfred to pick him up and to bring Dick and him with to stay with the teen whilst he showered and managed a bit of rest before patrol.

He had grimaced when Alfred had told him that Bruce would retrieve him later to accompany him on his rounds.

When they arrived out front of the hospital, Bruce met them at the car, already standing outside the double doors as Alfred pulled the vehicle into the drop off zone. The man watched silently as Dick exited the car and slowly but surely, Tim followed behind, head hanging limply from his shoulders as he avoided his gaze.

"He's awake, as of half an hour ago…" Bruce sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "He's in a foul mood and has quite the attitude despite his condition. You would think he would be the slightest bit grateful given that he's alive and well right now because of my intervention..."

Tim flinched, and folded in on himself tighter as he brushed past Dick, and bolted towards the hospital doors.

Bruce watched his retreating form, lips pressed into a thin line as he turned towards Dick, a ragged sigh breaking free as he met the younger man's gaze.

"You knew about all of this?" He questioned.

The raven haired man winced, but nodded all the same, moving to stand beside him.

"Only barely. Hadn't the slightest clue until the other night with Degan. Gave Tim a talking to, and told him to end things, break the friendship off." He murmured, shaking his head. "Have to give him credit Bruce… He followed my advice even though it upset him. Seemed to upset the other guy more. Almost broke my heart watching it."

"Dick…"

"Yeah… sorry, I know it's time to be serious." He laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair.

"You say he broke it off… and yet, here we are. Care to explain?"

"Tim must have gotten worried? Perhaps he hadn't seen him whilst passing by for a few days? You can't really blame him here Bruce… A life was at stake. Even if he should have left things alone afterwards, you know full well that you would have kept things under surveillance for a while. I could name dozens of examples, and you know it." Dick huffed giving the elder man an accusatory look.

"It doesn't change the fact that Tim started this- this _partnership_ in the first place. You do _not_ bring in a civilian on a case. It was an unnecessary risk that could have ended with the two of them losing their lives. It was careless… sloppy."

Dick sighed.

"Be that as it may Bruce… the kid did good. Degan is behind bars, no one was hurt, and in the end he's saved this kid's life. Granted, he did some things the wrong way, and got overly attached, but he's young. Cut him some slack. I was more of a nightmare than Tim will ever be." He chuckled.

Bruce could only manage to glare as walked off, more than ready to get the slightest bit of sleep before patrol.


End file.
